James Ward-Prowse could have been forgiven for thinking his chance had passed him by when Gareth Southgate announced his latest England squad last week. After six goals in his previous nine games in the Premier League the Southampton midfielder admits he was almost surprised not to see his name among the 23 players called up for the Euro 2020 qualifiers against the Czech Republic and Montenegro.
“I didn’t have anything,” says the 24-year-old with a shrug when asked whether Southgate had been in touch to explain his omission. “I saw his press conference and his interviews and read up on that but football is a game of opinions …”
His disappointment was short-lived, however, as the withdrawal of Fabian Delph and Ruben Loftus-Cheek handed a chance to the player who captained England Under-21s to the semi-finals of the 2017 European Championship to add to his solitary senior cap. Ward-Prowse has convinced Ralph Hasenhüttl of his worth and credits his upturn in form to a new toughness formed under the Southampton manager in recent weeks.
“I want to get away from that perception of being the Southampton academy boy. That’s not what I want to be any more,” he says. “Since the new manager at Southampton came in he mentioned a few things I needed to change and I took that on board. He told me my strengths, my weaknesses and I feel I have benefited from that. I’ve tried to stamp my authority a bit more on what’s going on, so it was a good conversation I had and I respected the way he approached me with that. I have utmost respect for him.”
Ward-Prowse adds: “I’ve always maintained my professionalism and my determination to show people and the fans and the manager that I am good enough to be playing at this level. I was just waiting for that opportunity and, when it came, I felt I took it with both hands. I’ve not looked back in the last few months.”
Evidence of his new clinical approach came in Southampton’s draw with Crystal Palace at the end of January when Wilfried Zaha was shown a red card for sarcastically clapping the referee after a foul by Ward-Prowse went unpunished, much to the delight of the home supporters.
“It is a good thing to be nice but to get to a certain level you have to have that bite,” he says. “Ultimately I want to play week in, week out and, if the manager demands certain things of me, I have to abide by it and change my ways. I feel I have benefited as a person and as a player from those changes.”
The birth of his son, Oscar, last summer during Portugal’s thrilling 3-3 draw with Spain meant Ward-Prowse’s attention was elsewhere for much of the World Cup but, having captained the Under-21s under Southgate on numerous occasions, he is fully aware of the impact of the manager on the senior side. A free-kick specialist who used David Beckham as his role model while developing his dead-ball technique as a youngster was described as “absolutely the sort of character you want around the squad” by Southgate on Monday when called up and he appears at home in his current surroundings despite not being involved since his debut against Germany in March 2017.
“I think it’s been two years since I last met up with the team and I’ve noticed a lot of changes around the place,” Ward-Prowse says. “There is a more relaxed feel about it but Gareth has always had that good balance between working hard and enjoying ourselves and giving ourselves that ownership and responsibility away for the pitch.”
He adds: “A lot of things have happened in those two years. I’ve had different managers and been in and out of the team. I’ve had difficult experiences and obviously there’s been the birth of my son. I’ve had a lot of ups and downs but I feel like I’m in the strongest position I’ve ever been as a person and as a player. I’m looking forward to the remainder of the season and also to this week. For me it is going to be a really important one – to enjoy it and to take away as much as I can.”