Gareth Southgate has a job on his hands of keeping his England players happy

Steve McManaman admits maintaining a happy camp while away on England duty is 'tough' but believes boss Gareth Southgate is striking the right notes ahead of Monday's World Cup opener.

The Three Lions take on Tunisia in Volgograd and the mood in the camp appears happier than previous tournaments in South Africa and Brazil.

For McManaman, who was part of the side under Terry Venables at Euro 1996, it is the football that will determine how long sprits remain high in the England camp.

'It's tough because you've got 23 different individuals: some who are quiet, some who are mad,' McManaman, speaking at the Carabao Cup first round draw in Vietnam, said.

'It's hard to be happy all the time, especially when the football comes into consideration. Winning and losing are one thing and of course, some players who are in the starting XI and some who are not so it's tough.

'All you can do is try and be friendly with everybody, try and rally round players who are down.'

Aside from training and travelling, the players have lots of free time and it has been an issue criticised by former internationals that downtime has left players 'bored'.

While Southgate's side spend time at their Repino base playing popular video game Fortnite or catching up on the latest episodes of Love Island, McManaman admits it was a much more relaxed affair in 96.

'In Euro 96 we were back in England so it was completely different but we would go back to the hotel after the game and have a beer with Terry Venables,' he added.

'We'd all stay up and speak and have a laugh and a joke. Other managers didn't necessarily let you have a beer. You do whatever you can to pass the time.