Gareth Southgate admits England's Euro 2024 campaign was in 'danger' of unravelling after disappointing group stage, as he opens up on confronting his critics to lead the Three Lions to the brink of glory

Gareth Southgate has probably taken more criticism than most with any kind of similar record as an international manager. 

But as the England coach prepares to lead his team in to their second successive European Championship final in Berlin on Sunday, he says the dissenting voices will never deter him.

Southgate’s England will face Spain at the Olympiastadion trying to win their country’s first men’s trophy since the 1966 World Cup. Along the way, the 53-year-old has had to listen to the naysayers telling him he is a negative and limited coach holding his players back.

Not usually one to lower his guard, Southgate opened up on the matter as he sat and talked at England’s Euro 2024 training base at Blankenheim on Friday.

Asked if he felt things were about to unravel when England fans threw beer at him after his team drew 0-0 with Slovenia in their third group game in Cologne, Southgate said: ‘There was a danger but I was determined to confront it.

‘When the beer came over I was going to go and walk towards it because we fought too hard to change the environment for the players.

‘We’ve got players here who are in their first tournament. We’ve got players who have learnt how to win with us and have been with us all the way through. We’ve got some who’ve got no fear anyway.

‘But if we’d suddenly had this environment where it’s “I’m not so sure I did enjoy that” that would have undone the progress we’ve made.

‘So I felt it important to fight for that in that moment. I was the only who was going to be able to do that really. And I have no problem if I’m the lightning conductor – to take that for the players. Because in the end that’s the job. The job is to allow them to perform at their best.’

England’s journey through this tournament has been more difficult than any since Roy Hodgson’s England were knocked out of Euro 2016 by Iceland. In truth, England have only played well on one occasion and that in Wednesday’s semi-final defeat of Holland in Dortmund.

Southgate admitted on Friday he would have struggled to cope as a younger coach. But he revealed that experience and the example set by his father got him through. 'As a player and an athlete you view those failures in a different sort of way,’ he said.

‘As a coach, manager, leader, you recognise what you’re doing well.

‘Had we gone out in the first knockout round here, I know I would have managed this period better than I would have in Russia in the 2018 World Cup.

‘But that wouldn’t be how it was viewed and it would sound like nonsense to the man in the street, I completely understand that.

‘But I know the job now and I’m really clear on being my own biggest critic, reviewing everything clearly, so I know there is a body of work there and how we’ve worked with different teams, different groups of players that we’ve brought together to get the outcomes that we have.

‘I guess back in 2018 I would have taken more notice of how others viewed me and not had the confidence of years of being in the game, seeing the evidence of the work, the togetherness of the group that we’ve got with us. It’s about being able to rationalise things better.

‘I want to win so much on Sunday it hurts, don’t get me wrong. But I can handle whatever comes and I know it’s not going to change what the dog thinks when I walk back through the door.

‘I am fortunate that I am the type of guy who you have to prod a lot to get a bark. That’s just how I am. I don’t know why that’s how it is, probably something I get from my Dad.

‘He always managed his emotions really well. He also had a coach’s mentality - he was always looking after other people. I think we all grow up looking at those figures in our lives and, whether it is subconscious or not, you mimic and take on those traits. I owe a huge debt to him for lots of things, but that’s why I am the way I am.’

Southgate’s record stands up to scrutiny. In four tournaments, he has taken England to a semi-final in Russia, a quarter-final in the 2022 World Cup and now two European Championship finals. The first, at Wembley in Euro 2020, was lost to Italy on penalties.

Some people, however, have simply never liked Southgate and what they think he stands for. He has spoken out on a range of topics outside of football.

‘I don’t regret that because I think this is a position of responsibility,’ he said.

‘You have a chance to make a difference in things that are important. I have my values. I never wanted to impose my values on people. But I think there are some fundamental human values that, if you get the chance to model them, then you should.

‘If I’ve helped some kids, some adults, who feel they are living through criticism or whatever in the last few weeks, [by showing] there’s a way of trying to come through that and to show the perseverance, and things can change so quickly.

‘For them it won’t be two football matches that make the difference. But hopefully they can find a way through whatever difficulties they might be having. 

‘I think those values are important. We live in what’s been an angry country. I would love that to be different as we move forward. Hopefully we can bring some temporary happiness. But we’re not going to change our country either. Maybe we can deliver some good examples.

‘I think we’ve changed how English football is perceived around the world. There are still some questions to answer on that until we win.

‘In the end people will still question that final bit and I understand that. But to have the consistency of finishes that we have is important for English football because I think everybody working in academies, with kids, with senior players, it’s in these moments you realise how much that means to them.

‘Because they travel, they get comments about English football. It’s how they feel, that they’re on the right path with developing players and inspiring young coaches coming through. All of those things matter. But of course for Sunday none of them matter as much as winning the game.’

England are second favourites against a talented Spain team tomorrow but will be backed by a huge travelling contingent of supporters. Southgate admits that he is nervous but ahead of what may be his 102nd and final game as national coach, he accepts that to some people this game will define his legacy.

‘It will but in the eyes of others,’ Southgate said.

‘Where I’m fortunate is that age and experience has made me more comfortable with who I am, what I’m good at, what I need to be better at.

‘I completely understand that in the end winning and what that means completely changes how you’re going to be viewed by other people.

‘But the margins are so fine, and there are bits you can affect, others you are not going to effect. I would probably have felt differently about that three years ago, five years ago, but I’m in a different space now and that’s a good thing because otherwise I’d have been in a mess these last five weeks.’

England led after only a few minutes against Italy at Wembley three summers ago but couldn’t capitalise on it. Southgate was criticised for that too.

Asked if he had learned any lesson from that experience, he said: ‘I wouldn’t say we’ve necessarily changed anything.

‘We’ve been fortunate. We’ve been the distance in three of four tournaments. One was a third place play-off in Russia, but we were there for one day less.

‘I know there’s a body of work there and how we have worked with different teams, different groups of players that we’ve brought together, to get the outcomes that we have.‘I wouldn’t say we have necessarily changed anything. We’ve known the physical demands of a tournament. We’ve always had in our mind this time the importance of the bench, the importance of the squad.

‘There will be lots of things we have probably done differently, but nothing that I am sitting thinking we needed to do in a different way.

‘All our processes and ways of working have evolved. After every camp, we review everything, we improve what we do, we talk about the things we feel should be better. We do it after every game as a staff. ‘We work to try to deliver the best we can for the players.

‘We weren’t playing at the level we wanted to earlier in the competition. That was then a coaching challenge.

‘How do we fix what we’re doing? How do we improve what we’re doing? That wasn’t necessarily on the training ground.

‘That was at times just open, honest conversations, confronting the reality of: “This is the environment we’re in, guys… this still picture we’ve got of you. We’ve just drawn against Denmark, they’re on two points, we’re on four, they’re celebrating with their fans, we’re on our knees. We don’t want to see that body language again, we don’t want to see that feeling of defeat”.

‘We’d just probably got the point that got us to the next round. You have to work out what’s coming around you and focus on the reality. We didn’t hide from the areas of the performance that day that weren’t right.

‘We always have those honest conversations but, they're also real, so there's not theory or opinion. This is the game that we're watching back, this is what you were doing, this is what we talked about doing before the game. So it's a coaching look if you like. And in the end, most problems are resolvable.

‘It was a different sort of challenge to the last three tournaments. So how do we navigate it? What do we need to do? Who do we need to talk to? Who do we need to involve? What are the decisions we need to make?

‘And I'm fortunate I've got such good staff.’

Southgate’s celebrations after the win against the Dutch were unusually expressive.

‘Well it doesn't look so great if you beat Lithuania away and do it,’ said Southgate.

‘People would question that a bit more I guess. Look, I was doing that in 1990 when David Platt scored against Belgium and I was doing that in 1982 when Bryan Robson scored in Spain against France.

‘So that's where I am. I'm an England fan in the dug-out. I have more responsibility now but I'm desperate for England to win and I was the same as a player.

‘I would celebrate with the fans at all of my clubs. I know sometimes because I'm not like that on the sideline, people might view that differently but my job on the sideline is to make good decisions, not to be a cheerleader.

‘So I didn't see Terry Venables work that way. I've got to be in a clear headspace, I've got to know myself well enough to think: “OK, this is how I have to operate and this is me” and I'm less worried now if people like that, or people don't like that.

‘I don't think you have to be a certain way. Carlo Ancelotti is different to others. But that's my way, that's how I have to be and I'm not going to change because I think people would see straight through that. But they know I like to win and they know I'm as motivated to win as anybody else.’

As he approaches what by many will viewed as his final reckoning, Southgate can see the bigger picture. He always does. He may leave Germany on Monday morning as a winner but even winners do not escape scrutiny.

He said: ‘I have to accept that Didier [Deschamps] has had lots of criticism with France, Pep [Guardiola] gets lots of criticism, Jurgen [Klopp] got lots of criticism.

‘I’ve got my head round what that is now. As a 35 or 36-year-old, who had just walked out of the dressing room at Middlesbrough, I found that hard. I didn’t really get what it was.

‘I was being interviewed after games one year as the captain and the line of questioning as a manager is totally different. You get a different ride as a player than as a manager.

‘I had to work through all of that and now I’ve realised what that is.

‘I’ve got perspective, because I’ve seen people who have won things. Most national coaches here will have had criticism over the style of play, over selection or over results - it is what it is.

‘Ours is maybe a bit louder because of expectation, history, everything else. But I understand it and that helps me rationalise it.’