Joe Hart’s BBC Sport column: ‘Listen to the England players when they talk about pressure’

I don’t buy into all the criticism the team are getting but I don’t mind it because it shows people care, and I know they are frustrated because they are desperate for England to do well.

At the moment it’s the frustrated people who are the noisiest, but that is not going to affect the environment inside the England camp. There are plenty of thing in place to make sure that remains positive, whatever is being said on the outside.

As I became a senior player, I got more and more involved in the leadership group in the England squad, which plays an important role when you are away for a long time at tournaments.

I was always getting put forward for things like that and it was a role I liked having. All sorts of personalities and mentalities make up any England squad and I wanted to help my team-mates because I wanted to get the best out of them.

Four or five of us would regularly speak to the manager and relay messages to and from other players about every aspect of the camp. Even the small things can make a big difference, and if you make a tiny bit of effort for someone who feels even slightly uncomfortable about something, it can go a long way.

Whether it is making arrangements around training or deciding where the squad will eat, these are the conversations you have to try to find different ways to help the players relax, without losing their focus.

So much changes during the course of a tournament, including players’ emotions, but if everyone has got trust in each other then you can deal with anything together.

Things have become even more inclusive since Southgate took charge, and the support is always there if it is needed, which is another reason I am not worried about how the players are feeling now.

Joe Hart was speaking to BBC Sport’s Chris Bevan in Berlin.