Pogatetz has played down the comments, which angered a number of fans given he is the skipper of the relegation-threatened club.

But Southgate insists that Pogatetz was misquoted and will very much remain his captain.

"He phoned me on the day the stories appeared and he was very upset," said Southgate.

"As always, when players go on international duty they have a lot of media commitments and from a 45-minute interview you can take bits and pieces and come up with a story that's a lot more damning than the actual interview.

"I've been through that myself as a player and I know the way it works.

"He's totally committed to trying to keep us in this division. Everyone knows his passion for the team and the way that he plays.

"He was particularly concerned that supporters will view it in the way people will when a story like that comes out.

"I've got no questions about his loyalty to the club so it wasn't an issue for me because I know the way these things come out.

"We were both conscious that the way the story was reported didn't look good and that's why Emanuel wanted to very quickly address that situation."