Former England manager Sir Gareth Southgate aimed a ruthless swipe at his biggest detractors after picking out Manchester United defender Harry Maguire as a key example.
Sir Gareth Southgate has been out of management since 2024 after the former Three Lions boss stepped down from his role as England head coach.
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The 55-year-old former England player failed to lead the Three Lions to the Henri Delaunay trophy in 2024 after the Three Lions lost to Spain in the Euro 2024 final.
Southgate, who has been linked with Manchester United in the past, made the decision to leave his England role and was later succeeded by Thomas Tuchel.
Lee Carsley was appointed interim England manager after Southgate’s 2024 exit and ahead of Thomas Tuchel’s arrival as Three Lions boss in 2025.
Sir Gareth Southgate singles out Man Utd and England defender Harry Maguire for a key reason
England made big steps forward in terms of tournament progression under Sir Gareth Southgate, who led the Three Lions to the Euro 2020 and Euro 2024 finals.
The Three Lions also reached the World Cup semi-finals in Russia in 2018, only for eventual finalists Croatia to knock England out of the tournament in a 2-1 win.
Speaking on The High Performance Podcast, Southgate recalled how the sentiment changed around England amid their tough run of results at the beginning of Euro 2024.
“And, you know, we’re one of the favourites, but still only if, even as one of the favourites, there’s a 15 per cent chance statistically of winning it,” he said.
“But if we don’t win, I just know the narrative will be a desire for change externally. And then during that tournament, that we didn’t play as well as we’d have hoped.”
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Southgate then added that the likes of Manchester United star Harry Maguire and his importance to England shifted the narrative that his critics created about his reign.
“We couldn’t find a rhythm,” he continued.
“We had players with injuries. We had some key players [who] we lost just before the tournament.
“People like Maguire. By the way, people who we were criticised for years for playing, but have now actually become a really important part of how people view the team.
“So, then we’re in the early stages of the competition.”
Sir Gareth Southgate on protecting players like former Man Utd captain Harry Maguire from the England backlash
Maguire became a key player during Southgate’s tenure as England boss and the former United captain has impressed on the international stage with the Three Lions.
The 32-year-old United star was one example of where Southgate would check in on his players and reassure them amid the social media discourse around England.
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“Well, I’d say no in reality because the volume now of that debate is so intense,” Southgate explained.
“So yeah, I remember talking to players quite often after their debut. You know, ‘How did you find it?’
“‘Yeah, great.’ I can remember, I think Harry Maguire’s debut was in Lithuania. ‘How did you find it?’
“‘Yeah, great. You know, didn’t make any mistakes.’ ‘Great.’
“‘How about next time you try to be the best player you can be?’”
Maguire made his England debut under Southgate in 2017 and the United centre-back has been capped 64 times for his country and scored seven times as well.
from United In Focus https://ift.tt/ZHtP3gN