{"id":296691,"date":"2023-11-16T22:39:05","date_gmt":"2023-11-16T22:39:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/?p=296691"},"modified":"2023-11-16T22:39:05","modified_gmt":"2023-11-16T22:39:05","slug":"england-boss-gareth-southgate-bites-back-at-critics-as-he-closes-in-on-feat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/soccer\/england-boss-gareth-southgate-bites-back-at-critics-as-he-closes-in-on-feat\/","title":{"rendered":"England boss Gareth Southgate bites back at critics as he closes in on feat"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Gareth Southgate has promised England fans that his lack of histrionics on the touchline doesn\u2019t mean he isn\u2019t bothered about winning. As the England manager closes in on Sir Bobby Robson as England\u2019s longest serving manager since Sir Alf Ramsey, there is a lot of talk about legacy.<\/p>\n

Malta, his first opponents in 2016 are back at Wembley for his 90th game – just five short of Robson\u2019s tally between 1982 and 1990. Certainly the international situation is world\u2019s apart from the one he inherited after Euro 2016 and that transition is seen by many as achievement itself from his time in charge.<\/p>\n

But not for Southgate. \u201cI don\u2019t get up at five in the morning and come home from games at three in the middle of the night because I\u2019ve got no interest in winning,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t feel the need to explain it, it\u2019s just implicit in everything that you do.<\/p>\n

\u201cI may not scream and be like a banshee on the sidelines but that doesn\u2019t mean that you want to win any less than other people. That said – I\u2019m not too fussed about the Monopoly games at home, frankly. I don\u2019t mind conceding the odd one of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Southgate is not playing games. It may be Malta and England may have already qualified but the England manager wants to be among the top seeds in Germany and, with Kalvin Phlllips only joining up with the squad on Thursday night for personal reasons, he will otherwise name his strongest squad.<\/p>\n

Following such a strong qualifying campaign, England will go to the tournament as one of the favourites. However, it irks Southgate that he still faces doubts over his ability to lead England over the final hurdle and achieve major trophy success at senior level.<\/p>\n

After all, he has answered every question that has been asked of him so far and – as he himself makes no bones about pointing out – not everybody could.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou take charge of one of the most high-pressured jobs in world football and have to manage some of the biggest matches in world football,\u201d Southgate said. \u201cThere is only a World Cup final that we haven\u2019t done.<\/p>\n

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