Gareth Southgate has revealed his family persuaded him to stay on as England boss.
Southgate was on the brink of quitting after the World Cup after admitting the “negativity” around his reign had become overwhelming. But Southgate, talking for the first time since his decision to see out his contract until 2024, admitted his family persuaded him to give it one last shot at winning a major trophy.
“They left Doha saying you've got to give this one more go and try to get this trophy,” Southgate told ITV News.
Southgate also confirmed that he came close to announcing publicly last autumn that he would quit after the World Cup. It followed fierce criticism of England’s disastrous Nations League campaign last June.
Southgate said: “There was negativity about me being in charge and the last thing I wanted was for that to be the over-arching feeling going into a World Cup when you need the fans and everybody behind the team. You need that energy; you need that sense of togetherness.
“And if the debate was only going to be about finding flaws in what we were doing, in order that I go at the end, then that would have been very difficult for the team to perform at their best.”
Three Lions boss Southgate has now committed himself to guide England to the next Euros in 2024 when his current £2.5m-a-year contract expires.
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Southgate insists they can still enjoy success and he can handle abuse from fans but did make a telling admission that some England players did not truly believe they would beat France in their World Cup quarter final in Qatar.
Southgate added: “I don't think anybody would choose to walk over at the end of a game and get abuse, but I've also been in football long enough to know that.
“I can deal with it, and you've got to lead your players through those moments as well. I don't think anybody could say they enjoy it, but it also isn't going to determine exactly what I do and what I don't do.
“There will always be the thought that somebody else could do things differently and I'm not going to affect people's thinking on that until we actually go and win something. So, I've got to close myself off from that noise and accept it’s going to happen.
“I’m in a job with the chance to make some history and I have the privilege of leading the national team. It's been an unbelievable experience. I think we've made progress with the team across the years we've been in charge, and I'm determined to try and drive the team that next step.
“I think now we're in a different landscape to any previous England team I guess, because of the success we've had. In our own minds winning is probably the only thing that's going to fulfil us.
“The performance against France has shown the players if they didn't believe it before, which I still wonder whether they truly believed that before the game, but coming off the field they know that is a game they could win and should have won.”
