Under-fire England manager Gareth Southgate has pleaded with the Wembley crowd to “get behind the team” in their final fixture before the World Cup against Germany on Monday.
Southgate was booed by sections of England's travelling support following Friday's 1-0 defeat to Italy in Milan, which condemned his side to relegation in the Nations League and left them without a competitive win in five matches for the first time since 1992.
The manager was also targeted in their last fixture at home, the 4-0 reverse to Hungary at Molineux, when supporters jeered and sang 'You don't know what you're doing' - marking a dramatic shift in attitude following the togetherness of last summer's European Championship.
Southgate has taken responsibility for England's form but called for the home fans to support the players in Monday's Nations League dead-rubber.
“We’ve got 90,000 people, the stadium’s sold out, people want to come and see this team play," he said. “That’s because the players have done an unbelievable job for six years.
“We were on the back of a really difficult time, in terms of relationship with the fans, at the start of that journey. Slowly we’ve built the [tournament] finishes that have been discussed already in this room.
“Of course it’s not healthy for the team to be having this noise around them, I fully understand that. But it’s for me to take responsibility, it’s for me to allow them to go and play. I want them to feel the freedom. I think they know that we always talk about that within the training ground, and on the training pitch.
“I would urge the supporters to get behind the team. How they deal with me at the end or whenever, on the phone-ins or wherever else, is completely different. But this is their last chance to see the boys before they go to the World Cup. And we’re all in it together.
“We can only succeed if we’re all pushing in the same direction, and we’ve all got that positive energy towards doing well. What happens to me is irrelevant, frankly. It’s about the team. The most important thing is the team and the success of the team.”
Southgate has been widely praised for leading England to a World Cup semi-final and the final of Euro 2020, but said he is experienced enough to know that he would eventually be the target of criticism from supporters and the media.
He continued: “I’m fortunate that I’m now sadly in my 50s, I’ve been in football 30 years. In one guise or another I’ve been to 12 tournaments, whether that’s working with these chaps, or scouting. This will be my seventh as a player or a coach.
”I’ve seen pretty much everything. I’ve seen the cycle of war with the media, I've seen the absolute love-in, we’re somewhere in the middle of that, or maybe not quite in the middle. So that’s fascinating to observe from my side. And it’s a life experience that I knew at some point would probably come with this job.
”So I have to accept that. I didn’t ever get too carried away by what happened before, and I’m not too down about what’s happening now. I want to put it right of course, I want the team to win, I want the team to play well, and I want the fans to be happy. That’s why I took the job, I wanted to make a difference with English football. That will never change, I will keep working every hour I have to keep improving what we’er doing.”
If we keep the standards high, and performances come, then eventually results turn.
England have never gone six competitive games without winning but the manager insisted he is confident that results will eventually turn.
“I’m the manager, and results haven’t been at the level that we want, and that we require,” he added.
“So no matter what job you have in football, that will be the case. Of course with the national team that noise is going to be even louder, and more widespread. And I totally understand that. [I’m] not hiding from that. It’s a situation that we aren’t enjoying, not winning football matches.
“But we have to keep doing the right things every day, to keep improving small bits of our performances that can make a difference. And if we approach every day in that manner and keep the standards high, and performances come, then eventually results turn. I don’t think it’s ever been any different.”
