Gareth Southgate insists he is “not hiding” from criticism as England look to end a miserable run of form that has seen them go five matches without a win.
England take on Germany in the Nations League at Wembley Stadium on Monday knowing they have already been relegated from the competition's top tier.
On Friday night in Milan, the Three Lions were beaten 1-0 by an Italy side who failed to qualify for the World Cup finals that kick-off in Qatar in November.
That defeat means England have not won a game since beating Ivory Coast in a friendly six months ago and in the five games since, they have drawn two and lost three, scoring just once – a Harry Kane penalty against the Germans in Munich. It is their worst run since June 2014, and they have gone 495 minutes without a goal in open play.
Southgate was met with jeers and chants of “you don’t know what you’re doing” as England lost 4-0 to Hungary in June and he was also booed by the travelling fans following the defeat in Italy.
“Look, I’m the manager,” said Southgate on Sunday. “The results haven’t been at the level we want, that we require, so no matter what job you have in football that would be the case.
“Of course with the national team that noise is going to be louder and more widespread, I understand that.
“I’m not hiding from it, we are not enjoying it, but we have to keep doing the right things every day, to keep improving small bits of our performances that can make a difference.
Italy 1 England 0: player ratings
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ITALY RATINGS: Gianluigi Donnarumma - 7. Went untested for large periods of the game but made a good double-save to deny Harry Kane, then held Declan Rice’s shot well. AFP -
Francesco Acerbi - 7. Put in a lot of strong defensive play, including a good block to deny Kane’s shot. Was unlucky not to reach Giovanni Dimarco’s cross. AFP -
Leonardo Bonucci - 8. Made a great header to prevent Rice from getting a clear opportunity, among other important defensive contributions, then played the ball forward for Giacomo Raspadori’s goal. Booked for a foul on Raheem Sterling on the edge of the box. EPA -
Rafael Toloi - 6. There were times where he was dispossessed too easily, but the defender got a fantastic defensive touch on Kane’s cross to turn it wide. AP -
Giovanni Di Lorenzo - 7. Did well to compete with Harry Maguire and stop him getting a free header and often won his duels down the right. Booked for a late foul on Jack Grealish. AP -
Bryan Cristante - 6. Was beaten to some early balls which saw him commit unnecessary fouls. Saw a good strike blocked by Eric Dier but then hit another shot high and wide from a promising opening. Reuters -
Jorginho - 7. Put in some determined challenges and often moved the ball well in midfield. Getty -
Nicolo Barella - 7. Was sharp in a lot of his play and showed his combative side when required. Sent a shot wide but his blushes were saved by the offside flag. AP -
Federico Dimarco - 8. Often got the better of Reece James in both an attacking and defensive sense. Came inches away from finding Acerbi and struck the post with a shot of his own. Getty -
Giacomo Raspadori - 7. Was quiet for a lot of the game and wasted some good chances but conjured the vital moment by touching down Bonucci’s ball, beating Kyle Walker and curling an effort into the net. AP -
Gianluca Scamacca - 6. Showed plenty of early intent with a header that was tipped onto the crossbar and ambitious shot but faded out of the game. EPA -
SUBS: Wilfried Gnonto (Scamacca, 63’) - 6. Showed plenty of energy and a fearlessness as he stole Dier’s pass and lured James into a foul. AFP -
Tommaso Pobega (Barella, 63’) - 6. Made his presence felt in midfield but was halted by Dier when he tried to break into the box. Getty -
Manolo Gabbiadini (Raspadori, 81’) – N/A. Had a shot saved by Nick Pope’s legs but contributed well defensively at times in his own half. Getty -
Emerson Palmieri (Jorginho, 90’) – N/A. Came on for the final moments and made a decent run forward as the game came to a close. Davide Frattesi (Dimarco, 90’) – N/A. Getty -
ENGLAND RATINGS: Nick Pope - 6. Made a good save to deny Scamacca but had no chance with Raspadori’s shot. Got away with an unconvincing pass. Getty -
Kyle Walker - 5. Made a great header to clear Dimarco’s free-kick delivery but then let Raspadori go inside him far too easily for the only goal of the game. Getty -
Eric Dier - 6. Made some great defensive blocks and headers. Was often slow on the ball and lacked the quality required when it came to progressing it forward. Getty -
Harry Maguire - 6. Had a mixed game defensively, making some clumsy challenges and being beaten to the early header by Scamacca, but also making a brilliant challenge on Barella when Italy threatened to break forward. Reuters -
Reece James - 5. Often found himself outdone by Dimarco, being unable to beat the Italian with his own crosses and giving him too much time at the other end on occasions. Delivered a good cross for Jude Bellingham towards the end. Getty -
Declan Rice - 6. Made some good defensive interventions, including a block to deny Raspadori, and tested Donnarumma with a late shot. AFP -
Jude Bellingham - 8. Was easily England’s best player, often doing well to progress the ball forward and also battling in the midfield when needed. Wasn’t quite able to keep his header below the crossbar in the final stages. AFP -
Bukayo Saka - 4. It’s not entirely his fault as he was played out of position, but Saka often looked uncertain about whether to fly forward and help in attack or focus on his defensive duties. This meant he didn’t do particularly well on either front. Getty -
Phil Foden - 4. Was often nullified too easily and some of his free-kick deliveries were poor. Needed to get on the ball more to make a genuine impact. Reuters -
Harry Kane - 6. Had two powerful shots in quick succession saved and put in some good work in his own box at times. His frustration was encapsulated when he had to wait to come back on after a clash of heads with Toloi. PA -
Raheem Sterling - 6. Tried to make things happen despite constantly being put under a lot of pressure, but the Italians were often able to find a way of stopping him whether legal or not. PA -
SUBS: Jack Grealish (Saka, 72’) – N/A. Tried to make things happen but was fouled a lot and eventually booked for dissent, meaning he’ll miss the Germany match. AP -
Luke Shaw (Walker, 72’) – N/A. Delivered a good low cross that somebody should have made more of an effort to reach. PA
“If we approach every day in that manner and keep the standards high, and performances come, then eventually results will turn.”
Southgate pointed to his years of experience as he was asked if he doubted himself following recent criticism. “I’m fortunate that I’m now sadly in my 50s, I have been in football for 30 years and I have gone in one guise or another to 12 tournaments, working with these chaps, scouting – this will be my seventh as player or a coach, so I have seen pretty much everything,” said Southgate.
“I've seen the cycle of war with the media. I've seen the absolute love-in. [Now] we're somewhere in the middle of that, or maybe not quite in the middle.
“That's fascinating to observe from my side and it's a life experience that I knew at some point would probably come with this job.”
Monday is England's final game before their World Cup campaign kicks off against Iran on November 21 in a group that also contains Wales and the United States.
Southgate urged a sell-out crowd at Wembley to separate their feelings towards him from the send off they give his squad.
“How they deal with me at the end or whenever, on the phone-ins or wherever else, is completely different,” he said. “But this is their last chance to see the boys before they go to the World Cup. We're all in it together.
“We can only succeed if we're all pushing in the same direction, and we've all got that positive energy towards doing well.
“What happens to me is irrelevant, frankly. It's about the team. The most important thing is the team and the success of the team.
“I'm not the first coach to go through a difficult time in terms of results and criticism. That is part of the territory. For me, it's a great challenge to lead the team through a moment like this.
“You are not going to have six years as we've had without a spell where you are going to have some tough results, and you've got to show resilience to come through those moments.”
Raheem Sterling has been one of Southgate's most trusted disciples over the past six years and the Chelsea forward believes there is no reason to panic because of the Nations League results.
“Semi-final and a final,” said Sterling on how he would respond to Southgate's critics. “He's someone all the boys trust and these last couple of games shouldn't change that narrative.
“A lot of it has been unfair but that's the level we are at. With England we're always under pressure to win, but a small loss of form is nothing to panic about.”
