England manager Gareth Southgate insists he is still the right man to lead the country into this winter’s World Cup.
The Three Lions are on a dreadful run of form at the moment, and put in another underwhelming performance as they lost 1-0 to Italy in their latest Nations League match this week.
There will now inevitably be questions about Southgate ahead of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, but he believes he’s still the man for the job and that his team are on the right track, even if results are not what they should be.
Speaking after the Italy game, as quoted by Sky Sports, Southgate said: “Look, I think that’s currently where it is and I have to accept that.
“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.
“I don’t think (the) performance (against Italy) was far off and I know that’s going to get derision just because we’re on the back of a run of defeats.
“But I’ve got to separate the summer and the circumstances around the summer from (this match).”
He added: “In the past we’ve had runs of friendlies or whatever the matches are and then we’ve gone into tournaments and that’s the first time we’ve hit high-level opposition and it’s hit us in the face quite often.
“Now we know the level, now we know what we’ve got to improve and we’ll be better placed for that by having had the quality of matches that we’ve had.”
England’s recent results are certainly a worry, however, so it’s little wonder some fans will be growing impatient with Southgate, even if he has done well with the Three Lions in their last two major tournaments.
England are now on a run of three defeats and two draws from their last five games, with their last win coming back in March.