Jack Grealish ready to be ‘realistic’ about lack of England starts at Euro 2020

Grealish has been used as an impact substitute rather than a regular starter

Jack Grealish believes he has to be "realistic" about his chances of starting for England, while admitting that it is difficult to start games on the substitutes bench.

The Aston Villa captain is an ever-present at club level but has been used as an impact substitute by Gareth Southgate, only starting the 1-0 win over the Czech Republic in the final group outing.

Even so, Grealish has two assists to his name, setting up Raheem Sterling's decisive goal against the Czechs and Harry Kane's first of the tournament in Tuesday's memorable 2-0 win over Germany.

The 25-year-old is a popular figure among England's support, too, and the clamour for him to start regularly has grown throughout the Euro 2020 campaign.

Like any player, Grealish would prefer to be the first name on the team sheet and play from the off but given Southgate's "scary" options up front, he knows he has fierce competition for a place.

"It’s difficult," he said. "I’m always playing every single minute at Villa. I have to be realistic about myself and the talent that we have here, especially in my position.

"You have got six players that play either side of Harry that, in reality, could play for most clubs in the world. Myself, Jadon [Sancho], Marcus [Rashford], Raheem, Phil Foden and Bukayo [Saka].

“That’s scary how good us six are. That’s not being big-headed or nothing. That is just the truth.

"I’ve got to be realistic. I’ve just got to go and train as well as possible every single day and try and impress the manager as much as possible because at the end of the day, there is only person you have got to trust."

Grealish said that he has had nothing but support - and "plenty of cuddles" - from Southgate since making his international debut last September, and dismissed suggestions of any tension between him and his manager.

"He’s been perfect with me," he said. "I see some stuff sometimes about me and Gareth but we have a great relationship and he does with all the players.

"That’s one thing he does have. He’s a brilliant man-manager and he has all these attacking players that play week in, week out at their clubs.

"It’s the same for those other six, for those who haven’t had the game time they would have liked. He can’t play all six of us. He can’t play everyone.

"That’s one thing that he’s done really well. He’s made people think that they are still involved, he still speaks to everyone on a daily basis."

Having made his major tournament debut at 25-years-old, Grealish admitted that he wishes that his breakthrough had come sooner but he blames nobody but himself for his late start.

The Villa captain has 10 caps to his name and will only be 28 at the time of the next European Championship in 2024, but could have estbalished himself at this level earlier if not for his off-the-field antics.

When asked if he wished he had played for England sooner, he said: "Yes of course but 100 per cent that’s down to myself. That isn’t down to anybody else.

"I had a chat when I was 19 with Roy Hodgson and thought it was going to be the start of my international career and it wasn’t. I had some stuff off the pitch and then I got relegated. So it’s nobody else’s fault, it’s my own."

Grealish struggles to explain his popularity among the fans, who chanted his name and called for him to come on when his face appeared on Wembley's big screens during the games against Scotland and Germany.

"“I don’t know! You tell me! I like that sort of stuff and I just go out and try to repay people with my performances. That’s what I do at Villa.

"Look at Villa fans giving me so much love, I go out there and try and repay them. When I come here it is different. I get booed every single week by these fans.

"This camp when I watched in 2018 in Russia it was something that brought the nation together.

"When I speak to my mum and dad they think it’s so nice, that people they are not going 'f*** him, if he was at Villa we’d boo him every week’, they are all giving me that support, and doing it for the whole team, and it’s so nice to see them being part of that."