‘Let’s not forget where we have come from’: Harry Kane shuts down questions over Gareth Southgate’s future after Hungary humiliation as he credits boss for creating ‘one of the most successful England sides in the past 50 years’
England captain Harry Kane said he should not be answering questions on Gareth Southgate’s future as he supported the manager after a humiliating defeat to Hungary.
The Three Lions ended a disappointing international camp with a woeful 4-0 loss to Hungary to remain shackled to the bottom of Group A3, just one year on from their Euro 2020 campaign.
Manager Southgate was met with a chorus of ‘you don’t know what you’re doing’ chants from fans inside the Molineux Stadium as the second consecutive defeat to the Hungarians left England without a victory in four Nations League matches.
Harry Kane (left) backed England manager Gareth Southgate (right) after 4-0 defeat
The Three Lions ended a disappointing international camp with a woeful loss to Hungary
After the game, his skipper jumped to Southgate’s defence as he credited him for transforming the Three Lions into ‘one of the successful England sides in the past 50 years’.
Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, Kane said: ‘It’s a really disappointing question to be asked. Let’s not forget where we have come from.
‘Gareth has been a key part of transforming this England team to one of the most successful sides we have had in the past 50 years.
The captain jumped to Southgate’s defence as he credited him for transforming England
‘I know it’s disappointing for the fans. It has been a disappointing camp, every now and then football throws up a surprise, we have to look at the big picture.
‘It’s the first low point I’ve had in five years, a really disappointing night. We expect to win these games, but it wasn’t our night. We need to stay calm and learn from it.
‘We’ve had two fantastic tournaments in a row. It’s not the time to panic. It’s a loss we’re disappointed with but we need to stay calm and we know we have stuff to work on.’
The second defeat to Hungary left England without a win in four Nations League matches
The Tottenham star reiterated his support of Southgate to Channel 4 and urged fans to remember how far the side had come in recent years but conceded it was a ‘disappointing night’.
‘It’s not even a question I should be answering,’ he said when asked about the boos aimed at Southgate.
He added: ‘A disappointing night. First half we created enough chances to score but it has been the story of our Nations League, we have not quite had the cutting edge.
Kane branded the second half unacceptable as England panicked after Roland Sallai’s second
‘Second half was not acceptable after going 2-0 down. It is not the time to panic, we have to the heads up and come back stronger in September.
‘It is our first big defeat in a long time, the defence has been structure of our success. A night to forget but we have to take it on the chin and move forward, we have to prepare for a big World Cup and will learn a lot from this camp.
‘Let’s not forget where we have come from, our first final in 60 years, a semi-finals in the World Cup, compared to where we have been in the last 50 years. I under the fans’ frustration, we will keep working to try and have a successful World Cup.’
