Gareth’s got the England faithful flying high again

GARETH SOUTHGATE says that England fans would be plane crazy not to like the football his side are producing.

Less than 12 months ago, supporters were so fed up of the stuff being played they made their feelings known in a unique way.

Thousands decide to make paper aeroplanes from pieces of card left on their seats designed to make a mosaic.

As a result, Southgate and his players found themselves under fire as the paper planes rained down on the pitch.

The low point came during an unconvincing 1-0 win over Slovenia at Wembley during the World Cup qualifiers.

And Southgate’s men were so bad against the part-timers of Malta that some fans left at half-time to head into town for a beer.

Fast forward to Russia and Southgate has got his side flying after leading them into the knockout stages.

The Three Lions play Colombia in Moscow tomorrow for a place in the quarter-finals, with Southgate describing it as English football’s “biggest game for a decade”.

But he is convinced long-suffering fans now have a team producing exciting football that they can be proud of.

Qualified

Southgate said: “I don’t know if they would view it that way, but I’m constantly talking to them (the players) about going for it in life.

“They’ve been able to change perceptions of how an England team might play. We mustn’t lose sight of that.

“Ten months ago we qualified and people were throwing paper aeroplanes onto the pitch at Wembley.

“We were driving back to our hotel in Malta with some obscene chants being thrown at us from supporters.

“I feel like we’ve started to connect the team with the public again. I feel like we’ve created excitement, like we’ve played in a style that has shown an expression of what young English players are capable of.

“I want us to continue doing that because I really believe in the group we’ve got.

“They are young. They are inexperienced. For some of them, this will be one of the biggest games they’ll have been involved in.

“But maybe not the biggest. We have always got to keep that context for the players.”

England have not reached the last eight of a World Cup since Germany in 2006. The stakes Yp A< <DP :IFJJ tomorrow are huge for Southgate and his players, and the Three Lions boss has urged his side to be bold and brave in equal measure.

He added: “I think there’s a chance we can overplay the game. The important thing this week is we’re calm.

“We prepare in the way we have right the way through.

“We’ve played well. We’ve had good processes that have got us to this point.

“This game is only a big game because it’s the next one and we want to be involved in bigger ones.

“So it’s important that they understand how much belief I have in them and they continue to play in the way we’re trying to play.

“We’ve got to be brave. We’ve got to be on the front foot in games – and if that goes wrong, then that’s my fault.

“But I want the players to be coming off the field feeling as if they’ve shown exactly how good they can be.”