'Strong' message from Tuchel after fast start

THOMAS Tuchel was impressed and enthused by England’s effort, attitude and willingness to adapt during his winning start to life in charge.

- By SIMON PEACH

Having been announced as Sir Gareth Southgate’s successor in October, the 51-year-old began work on New Year's Day and on Monday ended his first camp with two World Cup qualification victories in four days.

Tuchel admitted he wanted more after opening with a 2-0 Wembley win against obdurate Albania on Friday and England responded with flashes of quality as Latvia were overrun 3-0.

There remain plenty of kinks to iron out on the road to next year's World Cup, but the German head coach says watching his players has helped him gain a greater understanding of his squad.

"We need this to learn from each other,” said Tuchel. “For the first time I coach most of these players, so I need to understand how they behave, what they’re like, how they behave under stress, what they do out of position, in position and out of possession and in possession.