Gareth Southgate says he does not need any England U21 help

England Under-21 boss Gareth Southgate insists he is not an apprentice and says he does not need the help of a mentor.

The Young Lions finished bottom of their European Championship group over the summer and it has recently been suggested the players could benefit from Southgate having an experienced older coach or manager brought into the set-up to advise him.

But the 44-year-old, who managed Middlesbrough from 2006 to 2009 in his only prior stint as a No 1 before being appointed to his current role in 2013, has dismissed such talk.

Southgate said: "I don't think I'm an apprentice. I had 150 matches managing in the Premier League and the Championship.

"We (England U21s) had 17 games with one defeat in the lead-up to the summer and I don't think anybody was suggesting that at the time."

Southgate's remit is being modified, with changes reducing his responsibilities related to the age groups from the U20s down to the U16s to give him more time for U21s work.

"We are looking at some more full-time roles, so that my role is more focused on the U21s," he said.

"I've got a person assisting me [Steve Holland] who has won the Champions League, the Europa League and the Premier League [with Chelsea], so I'm pretty happy with the support I've got.

"In terms of mentoring for managers and coaches, I do think it's important - it was something that helped me when I started at Middlesbrough when I had people like Steve Harrison and Malcolm Crosby, who had been first-team managers.

"But I don't feel I'm in that position now."

Southgate was speaking ahead of his side's first matches since their disappointing European Championship exit.

They have a friendly on Thursday against the United States' U23s in Preston before Monday's 2017 European Championship qualifier away against Norway U21s.

Southgate has named Southampton midfielder James Ward-Prowse, one of the handful of survivors from the summer tournament in the Czech Republic, as his new captain.

He believes it is important there is now a "leadership group" headed by Ward-Prowse within the camp as they look to bounce back from the disappointments of the summer.

"He has captained us in a couple of games before," Southgate said of the 20-year-old.

"We think his values are good in terms of his ability as a player, him being an exciting prospect, and I also think he integrates well with other people.

"I think it's important we develop more leaders - I think it's a good dynamic for them to come to the fore."

Defenders Calum Chambers and Matt Targett and midfielders Nathaniel Chalobah, Jake Forster-Caskey, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Nathan Redmond are the other players retained from the tournament in the summer.

Eric Dier and Cauley Woodrow are two further players with U21s caps included in this party, while the likes of Liverpool duo Joe Gomez and Jordon Ibe and Tottenham's Dele Alli are all uncapped.

Southgate has also confirmed he plans to take a group to next year's Toulon tournament.