Gareth Southgate insists he’s the man to lead England to the World Cup.
Southgate, 52, is coming under increasing pressure just two months before the Three Lions kick-off their bid for glory in Qatar against Iran after a disastrous few months which has seen his team suffer a humiliating Nations League relegation.
He was jeered off the San Siro pitch by 4,000 angry England fans after a 1-0 defeat at the hands of 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, and that’s that.”
Southgate has been England’s most successful manager 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 a single point to finish bottom of a Nations League group that also includes Hungary, Germany and Italy. His misfiring team have failed to score a goal from open play in all five games and now face Germany in their final game before Qatar at a sold-out Wembley on Monday night.
Southgate was in the England team when Kevin Keegan famously quit as manager in the toilets following a 1-0 defeat at the hands of 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’s happy to continue carrying the burden of expectation for his players.
Southgate said: “ I know how people dealt with these situations (in the past). I’ve got to deal with it in my own way. The biggest thing is I’ve got to make sure the team stays on track.
“We’ve got to keep doing things that we think are right and assessing the things that 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: “I think 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 look, in the end I’ll ultimately be judged on the tournament and how we do in the tournaments.
“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 November and December, Southgate’s stance was one of defiance.
“Yes, without a doubt,” he said. "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.”
