Tyrone Mings addresses ‘threat’ as Gareth Southgate uses Steven Gerrard example

Tyrone Mings is placing his ‘trust in the process’ as England boss Gareth Southgate starts to whittle down his squad for the World Cup in Qatar.

Aston Villa captain Mings has become a regular under Southgate in the past three years to earn 16 caps for his country. The 29-year-old is poised to play in England’s friendly with Ivory Coast at Wembley on Tuesday evening.

Competition is fierce for places in Southgate’s squad and Mings was one of six centre-backs selected for the latest camp. Southgate has again omitted Mings’ Villa teammate Ezri Konsa, Wolves star Max Kilman and AC Milan defender Fikayo Tomori.

And Mings knows the pressure is on to seal a spot on the plane to Qatar. He admitted: “You know what’s on the horizon because everyone wants to go to a World Cup.

“Whenever there is an expectation on you, the only thing you’ve got to revert back to is what you've done to put yourself in that position. I know what my qualities are so I’m trying to bring that into the group every time I come into camp. That’s just about all I can do and then trust in the process when it comes to decision time.”

He added: “It always feels like you're on trial here, in a good way. The talent is so vast and that’s a challenge people thrive in and are excited by. We’ve got players coming in for the first time that are playing to a really high level. It’s not something to be scared by or threatened by, I think it’s really helpful for the team.”

Southgate’s desire to rotate his squad and assess all of his options means England regulars miss out on caps occasionally. Three Lions skipper Harry Kane is one of the players who could be rotated against the Ivory Coast.

Speaking about Kane, Southgate said: “If he had his way he’d play 90 minutes