Gareth Southgate insists he is the right man to lead England as public unrest mounts

The FA have backed Southgate following England's disappointing Nations League results and reassured the 52-year-old his position is safe

Southgate - Gareth Southgate insists he is the right man to lead England as public unrest mounts
Gareth Southgate described England's defeat to Italy as 'a step in the right direction' Credit: GETTY IMAGES

Gareth Southgate has insisted he remains the right man to take England to the World Cup, despite admitting the weight of public opinion is turning against him.

England made it five games without a victory, during which they have not scored from open play, against Italy ahead of Monday night’s final World Cup warm-up game against Germany at Wembley.

Southgate was again booed by England supporters following the defeat in Milan with many now calling for him to be replaced.

The Football Association will not sack Southgate and, while he may well decide to step down after the tournament, the 52-year-old has no intention of leaving his post before the World Cup starts in November. 

“I think I’m the right person to take the team into the tournament,” said Southgate. “I think it’s more stable that way, without a doubt.”

Asked if he is prepared for the fact that public animosity is unlikely to dissipate before the World Cup, Southgate added: “Look, I think that’s currently where it is and I have to accept that.” 

Southgate will not be the first England manager to take the team into a major tournament with doubts over his future, with many of his predecessors facing even greater scrutiny during their reigns.

“I’ve seen every other England manager have it, so I wasn’t and never have been carried away by praise,” said Southgate. “I know how the game is and it turns so quickly, and in the end you are judged on results and it’s as simple as that.”

Southgate will celebrate his sixth year as permanent England manager in Qatar, during which time he has led the national team to the final of the European Championships and the semi-finals of the last World Cup.

Gareth Southgate led England to their first major final since 1966
Gareth Southgate led England to their first major final since 1966 Credit: GETTY IMAGES

“I think inevitably when you are in a role for a long period of time, then you’re going to have a spell when things are more difficult and that’s probably human nature,” said Southgate.

“In the end, I’ll ultimately be judged on the tournaments and how we do in the tournaments. Would we have preferred a different run of results in this period? Without a doubt. We’d like to be scoring goals freely for certain, we’d like to be winning matches, but this is a different sort of test for us and we need to show we are resilient enough to deal with that.”

Having been booed by supporters at Molineux in June and in Milan on Friday night, Southgate is braced for another potentially hostile reception from fans at Wembley if things go wrong against Germany.

“Look, nobody is going to enjoy being booed by the supporters at the end of a game but I understand the job,” said Southgate. “It is what it is. Football management, whenever you have a difficult run of results, it’s going to be the manager that has to deal with that. That’s the job. So you’ve got to get on with it.”

Asked about the fate of previous England managers, Southgate added: “I know how people dealt with those situations. I’ve got to deal with it in my own way and the biggest thing is that I’ve got to make sure the team stay on track, that we keep doing the things that we think are right and assessing the things that we need to improve. 

“And it’s my job to take the pressure off the players and if it means that the reaction is towards me that’s fine because what we’ve done over six or seven years is make the England shirt lighter to wear. If it’s me that has to deal with that, then that’s absolutely fine because I’m 52 and I’ve been through pretty much everything.”

Southgate confirmed that Manchester City midfielder Kalvin Phillips is facing a race to be fit in time to go to the World Cup because of the dislocated shoulder injury that required surgery.

“Yeah, there’s the recovery from the surgery which there’s an estimated time [for] and then there’s the reality of how much football he might have and how much football he’s had in the last eight weeks so he’s of course a big doubt,” said Southgate.

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