I understand it – Gareth Southgate urges fans to stick with mis-firing England

Gareth Southgate told England fans to stick with the team whatever they think of him as the under-fire boss warned that the “unusual environment” at Euro 2024 is making life harder for the players.

Having wrapped up a place in the last 16 without kicking a ball on Monday evening, the Group C finale against Slovenia offered the chance to lift the mood after an unconvincing start in Germany.

But the hard-fought 1-0 win against Serbia and alarming 1-1 draw with Denmark were followed by another disappointing night, with Southgate’s side stuttering to a 0-0 draw against stubborn opposition.

The stalemate proved enough to top the pool as the other group game also ended scoreless, but boos met the end of their second straight match.

The sense of frustration in Frankfurt turned to anger in Cologne, with Southgate feeling that fury – and seeing a few empty cups nearly hit him – when he went over to applaud the fans.

“I understand it,” he said of the reaction. “I’m not going to back away from it.

“The most important thing here is that the supporters stay with the team. I understand the sort of narrative towards me and, you know, that’s better for the team than it being towards them.

“But it is creating an unusual environment to operate in. I’ve not seen any other team qualify and receive similar.

“So, I understand it, I’m not going to back away from it, but I’m very, very proud of the players and how they are operating within it.”

Southgate also called the environment “challenging” and “tough” after a difficult night against Slovenia.

Asked to explain what is different about the environment compared to the three previous tournaments he has overseen, he said: “I think probably expectation. You know, we’ve made England over the last