Gareth Southgate said he would not ‘outstay my welcome’ with England as he prepared to take on Italy in the Nations League
“I’ve got to find a balance because I don’t want to sit and be defensive, but some people have managed teams and others haven’t,” he said. “Until you’ve managed teams, you have a different view of the game. What’s needed to win football matches are the sorts of things [Mason] Mount did on [Joshua] Kimmich that allows other things to happen. For the man that comes and stands on the terrace and pays his money, I totally understand he wants to see a Grealish with a Sterling with a Saka.
Subs from: Pope, Ramsdale, Walker, Stones, Guéhi, Coady, Justin, Rice, Phillips, Mount, Foden, Saka, Bowen, Kane.Donnarumma; Di Lorenzo, Acerbi, Felipe, Dimacro; Frattesi, Locatelli, Tonali; Pessina, Scamacca, Pellegrini. It was put to Southgate that he is regarded in some quarters, fairly or not, as overly pragmatic. “I understand, I hear about conservatism, but we were the highest scorers in Europe last year,” he said, referring to a 39-goal haul in the World Cup qualifiers that came with the caveat of San Marino’s presence in Group I. “So I don’t quite know what more you can do. I’m not saying I don’t buy into it because I understand, in this role, everybody’s going to have a view.