Squad and FA stand by under-fire manager

GARETH SOUTHGATE has the full backing of his squad, who believe they should be taking the rap for England’s dismal summer. The manager also has the FA’s complete support ahead of the World Cup, despite poor results in the Nations League. Southgate has come under fire after his team failed to record a victory or a goal from open play in games against Hungary (twice), Germany and Italy.

He was jeered by fans during the 4-0 loss to Hungary on Tuesday, with a number calling for him to be sacked.

There is no prospect of that before Qatar 2022.

During his post-match address to his players after the thrashing by Hungary, Southgate — who only signed a new four-year deal in November — told his players that he would shoulder the blame for the dismal results because he had experimented with tactics and the line-up. Southgate’s decision to map out a strategy for team selections in advance of the four games surprised some players, who believed they would be featuring in certain matches only to miss out. But by and large there is a feeling within the squad that the criticism of Southgate is unfair and they should be the ones feeling the heat from fans.

‘If you look at the steps that he (Southgate) has made over the last couple of tournaments — a semi-final and a final — a couple of bad Nations League results is not something that we can judge him on,’ said Manchester City forward Raheem Sterling. ‘He’s led us incredibly well. It is down to the players to take this one on the chin, assess ourselves and come back.’ Southgate blamed fixture congestion for the poor displays. ‘I’m clear on why we ended with the result we did,’ he said. ‘The pressure we’ve had as an England management team has come through the fixtures (and) managing minutes like a pre-season. When we’ve had our full team, we’ve had historic results. We haven’t had our full team. I’m very clear and know what would need to be right to make sure that nights like (Tuesday) don’t happen again. ‘But you don’t carry it with you as a scar. It hardens you.’