Harry Kane has urged the nation to judge England on what happens at the World Cup.
The Three Lions skipper understands the hysteria that has enveloped Gareth Southgate's team following a miserable summer that has seen them suffer a humiliating Nations League relegation.
Southgate now faces the biggest crisis of his six-year reign with the World Cup just two months away. But Kane has challenged England's under-performing squad to take the pressure off the manager. And his defiant message to the country's anxious fans is that Southgate's players will respond when it matters most in Qatar.
Kane said: "I understand the frustration of the fans. I was an England fan - and I still am an England fan whether I'm playing or not. So I understand it. But ultimately we are going to be judged on what happens come November.
"If we have a successful tournament, I'm not sure people will be worried about the spell we've had over the summer - and that's the bottom line. We need to improve. We know that.
"The fans are always great and stick with us. I know they will be there on Monday supporting us (against Germany) and everyone will be excited about the World Cup, regardless of what happens. Hopefully, we can repay them with some good results."
Kane has been England's only goalscorer during a Nations League campaign that has brought just a single goal from the penalty spot.
The Three Lions have now gone 495 minutes without a goal from open play - and they were toothless in a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Italy in Milan on Friday night.
It has left Southgate feeling the pressure just two months ahead of the big kick-off in the desert.
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Kane has called on his teammates to show that they are right behind the boss when England face Germany at Wembley on Monday night.
He said: "We're a really strong group. We're always honest with one another. We are always talking about how we can improve. The players are ultimately the ones on the pitch and need to take that responsibility.
"Gareth is always there to try and do that. But we know as players that we need to do better. We're just not quite doing the business at the moment, especially on the attacking front.
"It's disappointing, for sure, but I'm a confident guy. I also know the strikers and attacking players here are confident players. It's not going to affect us too much. We just need to try to turn that around, and that starts on Monday."
Despite a third defeat in five games over the summer, Kane feels that the performance in the San Siro was an improvement.
And he believes it's only a matter of time before England are back in the goals.
Kane said: "We weren't clinical enough against Italy. But I don't think it's any time to get too high, when you're winning games, and too low when you're losing games. I really believe we are going to be judged on how we perform in Qatar.
"Before this spell, I think we were 22 unbeaten, which was a record, and everyone was happy and excited, and rightly so. In football, sometimes you have these moments where you have to dig deep and look within yourselves as players, as a team, as staff, and see where we can improve. This is definitely that moment for us.
"We're not panicking. We have another game, an exciting game against Germany at Wembley and that's always a big game."
