I’M JEER TO STAY
GARETH BELIEVES IN HIS TACTICS AND SAYS A THREE-MAN DEFENCE IS BEST
ENGLAND will not be ditching the tactical plan Gareth Southgate believes can deliver World Cup success.
The Three Lions boss insists his three-man defence is here to stay – and that he has been right to employ the system in the Nations League, despite a miserable campaign that has seen the Three Lions suffer a chastening relegation.
Kyle Walker, Eric Dier and Harry Maguire did not look secure in the 1-0 defeat against Italy in Milan on Friday night.
And England have now failed to score from open play for 495 minutes as Harry Kane and his team-mates suffered from a lack of service at the other end.
But Southgate is not for turning, with the World Cup opener against Iran just two months away and tomorrow night’s clash with Germany at Wembley his final chance to prepare for Qatar.
Southgate said: “I don’t see the formation as the issue.
“Of course, if you don’t win matches people will look at everything and we’re always open-minded.
“But I think it gives us the best chance over the next few months because we’ve got depth in those positions. If we get injuries, we’re not changing the system again and starting from scratch.
“I know I will get derision for saying this, but I thought we played well against Italy.
“If we want to play four at the back, there’s a risk because we’d be playing a right-footer on the left and then we’d be criticised for having the wrong balance.
“I think the defenders who are playing well are playing in back-threes.
“We went to four men after Italy scored, but I think we were dangerous with the three and with the four.”
England appeared inhibited by the formation they were asked to employ.
And the goal drought for a frontline, which included Kane, Raheem Sterling and Phil Foden in the San Siro, rarely looked like coming to an end.
Kane’s penalty in a 1-1 draw in Berlin is the only goal England have scored during the campaign.
But Southgate believes there are mitigating factors behind the Nations League misery after being pitted in a group that sees Hungary, who won 4-0 at Wembley in June, sitting in top spot. He said: “I think the players are free to play. Inevitably when you have a run where you’re not winning – and I repeat I have to separate the summer from this – it’s a problem.
“When we lost games in the summer, we weren’t fielding our strongest team and we weren’t in the best physical condition.
“But, with England, you’ve got to keep winning matches to keep the pressure off.
“Losing to Italy is going to add to the noise around that.”
Southgate added: “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 not going to create loads of chances.
“There’s also the run of fixtures. Normally you go into the World Cup on the back of a qualifying campaign that’s relatively comfortable, some friendlies that you handpick and a couple of weaker friendlies to keep up your fitness levels. “We’ll go on the back of Germany twice, Italy twice and a Hungary team, who, I think, have been exceptional.
“We have had far more difficult games – and haven’t managed to win those
games.”
GARETH SOUTHGATE insists that he is the man to lead England to the World Cup.
The 52-year-old is coming under increasing pressure just two months before the Three Lions kick off their bid for glory in Qatar against Iran. A disastrous few months have seen his team suffer a humiliating Nations League relegation. He was jeered off the San Siro pitch by 4,000 angry England fans after the 1-0 defeat to Italy on Friday night. But while Southgate admitted this is the lowest point of his six-year reign, he insists he will not be hounded out of his job with the World Cup looming. And he remains steadfast in his belief that he can deliver on the nation’s expectations in the Middle East. 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, and I don’t think the performance against Italy was far off. “Nobody is going to enjoy being booed by the supporters at the end of the game. But I understand the job. It is what football management is. “Whenever you have a difficult run of results, it is always going to be the manager who deals with it. That’s the job and I’ve got to get on with it. “I’ve seen every other England manager have it. So I wasn’t – and never have been – carried away by praise. “I know how the game is. It turns so quickly, but you’re judged by results.” Southgate has been the most successful England boss since Sir Alf Ramsey’s team lifted the World Cup in 1966. He guided the Three Lions to
the semi-final of the last World Cup in Russia and then lost a penalty shoot-out in last summer’s Euro final.
But England have picked up just two points to finish bottom of a Nations League group, which includes Hungary, Germany and Italy.
His misfiring team have failed to score a goal from open play in all five games and face Germany in their final game before Qatar at Wembley tomorrow night.
Southgate was in the England team when Kevin Keegan famously quit as manager following a 1-0 defeat to the Germans at the final game to be played at the old Wembley in 2000.
But he is adamant that he can cope with the pressure – and that he is happy to continue carrying the burden of expectation for his players.
Southgate said: “I know how people dealt with these situations. I’ve got to deal with it in my own way.
“The biggest thing is I’ve got to make sure the team stay on track. We’ve got to keep doing things that we think are right and assessing things we need to improve.
“It’s my job to take the pressure off the players and if it means that the reaction is towards me, that’s fine. “What we’ve done over the six or seven years is to make the England shirt lighter to wear. I’m 52 and have been through pretty much everything.”
He added: “When you’re in a role for a long period of time, then you’re going to have a spell when things are more difficult. “But I’ll ultimately be judged on the tournaments and how we do in them.
“Would we have preferred a different run of results? Without a doubt. We’d like to be scoring goals freely, we’d like to be winning matches. But this is a different test for us and we’ve got to show we’re resilient enough to deal with that.”
Asked if he is confident that he will get it right in Qatar, Southgate said: “Yes, without a doubt. We are playing some top-level sides (in the Nations League) and we will be better for that.
“Now we know the level, now we know what we’ve got to improve and we’ll be better placed for that.”