'Self belief is a great quality'

The latest to enter our Lions’ Den supported by BT, Tyrone Mings bounced back from rejection from the Southampton academy as a youngster and has so far been one of England’s stars at EURO 2020.

 Mings has helped to keep two clean sheets from the Three Lions’ opening two games at the tournament, and spoke to supporters via the interactive fans' wall in the latest episode of Lions’ Den. Supporters have the chance to get involved if they are members of My England Football.

 England fan Jason asked Mings how important self-belief is during a footballer’s early career and the Aston Villa star believes it makes a massive difference to a player’s prospects of reaching the highest level.

"Self-believe is vital 'in any walk of life',” said Mings.

“In the lead-up to the first game, I had my fair share of self-doubt. But then, at the same time, nobody believes in me as much as I believe in myself. So, I had to keep reemphasising that.

“I think it’s something that you can build and can learn from experiences. As long as the preparation for whatever you’re doing, I think that gives you the self-belief and the self-confidence. It’s a great quality to have.”

Mings then spoke to Spurs fans Eddie and Alexander, who had a joint question for him. Alexander is an enthusiastic youngster desperate to play as much football as possible so Eddie asked Mings what advice he can give to young players just starting out on their footballing journey.

“I’ve got an academy, where we try and emphasise how important it is to keep fun at the forefront of kids’ minds when they’re developing," he explained.

"The longer you can enjoy what you do, it never then becomes hard. You always enjoy it; you always want to go and play with your friends. You want to learn; you want to listen to coaches.

“So however you can do that, try and prelong that for as long as possible. Try and play with a smile on your face, what’s the worst that could happen? Football is a great game and it gives us a great opportunity to socialise and keep fit.”

Mings himself is a good example of a player who always plays with a smile on his face.

His teammates have been left smiling back at him this week, as the Villa centre-back’s inspired form has helped England to two consecutive clean sheets at the beginning of their EURO 2020 journey.

Mings and England are next in action in their final group game when they face Czech Republic at Wembley on Tuesday evening.