I’m still the right man for England, insists Southgate

ENGLAND manager Gareth Southgate says he is still the right man to lead the country into the World Cup after his side slipped to its third defeat in its last five games and he was jeered by thousands of angry travelling fans at the San Siro.

England’s 1-0 loss on Friday to a young Italy team, which did not even qualify for this winter’s tournament in Qatar, relegated Southgate’s side to the second tier of the Nations League, with their current poor run of form their worst since 2014. It is now more than seven and a half hours since an England team once heralded for its attacking riches scored a goal from open play.

Southgate is facing mounting criticism from fans and pundits for what they claim is an overcautious approach to selection.

He was mocked for saying he felt the manner of the display against the Euro 2020 winners was ‘a step in the right direction’ and insisted he was still confident England could be contenders at November’s World Cup.

England have one last chance to repair morale when they face old foes Germany at Wembley tomorrow night, but the level of vitriol towards Southgate has reached a pitch where he felt the need to say he intended to see the job through to Qatar.

Southgate said: ‘I think I’m the

right person to take the team into the tournament. I think it’s more stable that way, without a doubt. I don’t think that (Friday’s) performance was far off and I know that will get derision just because we are on the back of a run of defeats.

‘The players know that, in the main, the performance was good. We’ve got to be decisive in the final third. We’re not managing that at the moment and that’s a bit of a head-scratcher, given the quality of the players and the positions they got themselves into.

‘Against the top teams, you’re never going to create loads of chances. Normally, you go into the World Cup on the back of a qualifying campaign that’s relatively comfortable, some friendlies that you hand pick and a couple of weaker friendlies to keep your fitness levels. We’re on the back of Germany twice, Italy twice and a Hungary team that I think have been exceptional. So we’ve had far more difficult games and we haven’t managed to win those games.’

Southgate, who recently signed a new contract that runs until December 2024, has no intention of resigning and there is no appetite at the Football Association to sack a manager who led England to the semi-finals of the World Cup in 2018 and the final of Euro 2020. The recent run of form and the criticism that has been levelled at Southgate makes it more likely that he will not see his contract through but with Eddie Howe in a lucrative job in the pay of Saudi Arabia at Newcastle and Graham Potter newly installed at Chelsea, it is difficult to see who would replace him should he decide to quit after the tournament.

‘I’m still confident we can click when we get to the World Cup,’ Southgate said. ‘Without a doubt.’