Gareth Southgate: England players will need ‘love’ from fans to spark Euro 2024 campaign into life

Gareth Southgate bore the brunt of the England fans' anger after the draw against Slovenia - Getty Images/Sebastian El-Saqqa

Gareth Southgate believes his England players will need the “love” from supporters to spark their European Championship into life when they face Slovakia on Sunday.

The England manager was targeted by some fans after the goalless draw against Slovenia last Tuesday but he has urged them to get fully behind his young players to propel them in the competition, regardless of anger towards himself.

With Harry Kane calling for ruthlessness in attack for the last-16 clash in Gelsenkirchen, Southgate says his players will also be impacted by the reaction of supporters, who backed them loudly in Cologne before turning on the manager after the final whistle.

“Whatever people might feel about me, the team needs the fans. It’s a young team. It’s a team that can be influenced by the fans in a really positive way so they need that love, they need that support, they need that vocal support they had the other night – particularly in the second half,” Southgate said.

“And it can only help them give more and more so that’s my reason for being here, to lead the team and try to give my country the best chance of winning.”

Southgate had plastic beer cups thrown in his direction after the group stages wrapped up with one victory and two goals over the course of three Group C matches.

He cited Greece as an example of previous winners who have peaked at the right time during a tournament and has confidence in his own methods after reaching the final of the last Euros and the latter stages of two World Cups.

“I think we’re experienced to know that in tournaments, that’s the key, you have to peak, you have to perform well for a set period of time, that’s why Greece won a Euros,” he said. “People can produce those performances over a period of time and all the teams left in this competition can win.

“The biggest thing is that we know that what we have done over a long period of time works. I think when you are a younger manager, you don’t always have evidence from results and you are not certain where the players might be with ideas.

“But then as you get more experienced, you know where the group of players are, you know when they are with you and you know what they need to do to win football matches.”

Kane, speaking ahead of the Slovakia clash, rallied around Southgate and added that the squad “all take it as a team” rather just the manager. “We trust the process, we trust everything that we believe in,” said Kane. “And the rest of it is just noise. It’s something that you block out and focus on yourself.”

The Bayern Munich striker has called on England’s attackers to show the same ruthlessness in their game as defenders, who have kept two clean sheets and only conceded a long-range effort.

“I feel we’ve been ruthless on the defensive side, in terms of blocks and blocking crosses and winning balls and now it’s down to me, the attacking players and maybe the midfielders to maybe be a bit more ruthless in the final third of the pitch,” he said.

“We got into better areas against Slovenia and just lacked that killer instinct in the box, or with the cross or the pass. The support was incredible in that game. I thought the second half was one of the best I had ever experienced, particularly in a major tournament for England.

“A few caught the headlines at the end because of what they did but in general the support has been fantastic here. It is always amazing, particularly in major tournaments. I know the fans will be behind us, 99.5 per cent of the fans will be behind us for sure.

“The more they can bring the atmosphere they brought in the last game, the better for us, the more it will push us on and we will use that energy on the pitch.”

Harry Kane knows England need to be more clinical in front of goal - Getty Images/Ryan Pierse

Southgate is set to bring in Kobbie Mainoo into his team for Conor Gallagher and keep faith in Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka and Phil Foden supporting Kane. The striker admits he has been determined not to suffer the same heartbreak as he did in 2016 when England were shocked by Iceland at the Euros.

“I learned a lot from that moment. It helped me in my England career for the next tournaments ahead and my England career in general,” he said. “When you have a bad loss or a tough moment, all it does is light a fire in your belly to not let it happen again.

“When you have that opportunity, make sure it is a different outcome. In the tournaments I have been in, we have been to a semi-final, a final, a quarter final, so there have been a lot of highs on that journey and definitely some lows. You might not bottle them but you make sure the next time you’re there, you try everything to have a different outcome.”

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