Gareth Southgate: England Team 'A Family' After Raheem Sterling, Joe Gomez Clash

England manager Gareth Southgate has said his squad is "like a family" following the clash between Manchester City's Raheem Sterling and Liverpool's Joe Gomez.

The two players' respective sides faced off in the Premier League on Sunday, and the pair went nose-to-nose at the end of the game following a tangle. On Monday, Sterling is said to have confronted Gomez again, and he has subsequently been dropped for the team's match with Montenegro on Thursday.

Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Southgate played down the significance of the incident and said unity in the squad is still strong, per BBC Sport:

"I love all of my players. We are like a family. The important thing is for a family to communicate and work through problems. I don't expect as a manager to not have to deal with issues. ...

"Raheem in his [social media] post last night explained for a very brief moment his emotions ran over. It would be correct to say that's not the same for Joe."

Sterling posted the following message on his Twitter account, noting that "emotions got the better" of him:

Southgate was also asked about his thought process for leaving Sterling out of the squad for the Montenegro game.

"In the end I have to find the right solution for the group," said the Three Lions boss. "That's a difficult line, you try to be fair when dealing with all players. I won't always get that right, but I am the manager."

Sky Sports News shared the moment from Liverpool's 3-1 win at Anfield when the two players came head-to-head:

Per Sky Sports, Sterling was said to have packed his bags and be ready to leave the England camp following the flashpoint on Monday, only for Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson to act as a peacemaker.

In the report, it's said the City forward attempted to grab Gomez around the throat and said, "You think you're the big man now?" The Liverpool defender and Sterling both trained with the England team later in the day; Gomez had a scratch visible under his right eye.

Sterling will be a big loss for England, as he has shone for both club and country since the start of last season:

Southgate will still be confident his side can overcome Montenegro on Thursday, albeit the talk about the bust-up in training before the game will offer an unwelcome distraction to the team.

England know a win will be enough for them to book their place in the European Championship next summer and will be big favourites against Montenegro. When the two sides met in Montenegro in March, the Three Lions were comfortable 5-1 winners.