Gareth Southgate vows not to get ‘distracted’ by the ‘noise’ around the England camp

England manager Gareth Southgate has insisted that they will not get ‘distracted’ by criticism heading into the 2022 World Cup.

The Three Lions were relegated from the Nations League’s top tier after failing to beat Italy, Germany and Hungary either home or away – the worst run in form competitively for England since 1958.

Southgate was heavily criticised throughout those fixtures and has continued to be ever since for his lack of creativity and being too cautious with his tactics.

It seems a far cry from the fans cheering ‘Southgate you’re the one’ throughout the 2018 World Cup and Euro 2020, when he reinvigorated the nation’s passion for the football team.

The former defender led England to their first World Cup semi-final in 28 years, where they ended up losing to Croatia before finishing fourth after also losing to Belgium.

He followed up that success with a third place finish in the Nations League and also reaching a final at Euro 2020. The first final since the 1966 World Cup triumph – sadly it ended in a penalty shoot-out defeat to Italy at Wembley Stadium. 

Southgate led the Three Lions to their first major tournament final since the 1966 World Cup

‘The fact is, our results haven’t been as good and therefore people are going to ask questions about that and inevitably that comes onto either the players or the manager,’ Southgate told ESPN. 

‘Rightly, as the manager, I should bear the brunt of that. It is my job to take the heat for the team. I’ve had to lead through a different period, through a different type of narrative than I’ve had over the last five or six years.

‘We’ve played the Nations League three times, we’ve learned so much from the games, but it has meant 18 competitive matches against top-tier opposition that previous England teams have never had to deal with. 

‘I think it has helped us for the tournaments but it has definitely been harder working between the tournaments.

‘As long as we’ve got a clear understanding of that and rationale for that and that we don’t get distracted by the noise outside of our camp, which will always be there in one form or another, then actually the period we’ve been through, we’re better for it.’

Southgate dismissed claims that he considered calling time on being England manager after the Euro 2020 heartbreak in the final.

Southgate dismissed talk that he was considered walking away after the Euro 2020 heartbreak

‘No,’ the boss responded. ‘I think we felt a lot of the things we were doing were on track. 

‘We had a lot of young players who were able to not only be available for the next tournament but are going to improve over the next two or three tournaments. 

‘Of course, any time you finish a tournament, it takes a huge amount of energy and you need time to recover from it.’

Away from the pitch, concerns are being raised over the treatment of migrant workers and the LGBTQ+ community.

The tournament has been engulfed in controversy over human rights issues in Qatar

Southgate admitted it’s a ‘difficult balance’ with England having not spoken out on the situation like some teams including Australia, although they plan to wear rainbow-coloured armbands at the tournament with the words ‘One Love’ etched across them.

‘You can inflame things by being too strong publicly at the wrong times. That is a difficult balance and I’m not an expert at it. 

‘I am a football man who didn’t go to university so I will speak from the heart if I think the time is right, but I also do understand that there’s a responsibility here.’

Southgate will name his 26-man squad that will board the plane to Qatar on Thursday as the World Cup edges closer.