Gareth Southgate sticks to convictions and vows to block out criticism

Gareth Southgate says he will block out any criticism directed towards inconsistent results in the buildup to the World Cup and refuse to let negative opinions interfere with his planning.

England came out of Tuesday’s 1-1 draw with Germany in decent shape after equalising late on and finishing the game strongly. The outcome felt important after a surprise 1-0 defeat by Hungary and before Saturday’s visit of Italy, a rerun of the Euro 2020 final. Southgate, asked whether a degree of realism around setbacks is needed during a schedule that gave his squad four Nations League ties in 11 days, explained the importance of sticking to his convictions.

Related: England claw a draw in Germany and the latest on Italy – Football Weekly

“I know what I wanted from these games,” the manager said. “I also accept that with England you’re going to be judged and you have got to win every match.

“But I’ve got to think a little bit differently to that and accept that if there is criticism, fine. I have got to make the right decisions for the players, for the team, to try to improve the team and if that means criticism then so be it. If my decision-making is affected by that, then it’s something I am not going to be successful with.”

Given the intensity of the programme, Southgate will make changes for the Italy game and Tuesday’s rematch against Hungary. “You have seen right across Europe: France changed 10, Spain changed eight, Portugal changed seven,” he said. “This is quite a unique set of games where teams are thinking about player welfare to a degree, freshness, but also they are preparing for a World Cup because they know what’s coming and what they haven’t got in terms of friendlies ahead of the tournament.”

Jack Grealish is a