Postecoglou fires dig at Southgate after England’s sluggish start to Euro 2024 and reveals basic tweak boss must make
ANGE POSTECOGLOU urged Gareth Southgate to put “players in their natural positions” amid criticism of the England manager.
Three Lions boss Southgate, 53, has come under fire for his side’s opening two performances at Euro 2024.
An unconvincing 1-0 win over Serbia was followed up by a dismal 1-1 draw against Denmark on Thursday.
Many England fans have slammed decisions to play Trent Alexander-Arnold in midfield and Phil Foden on the left of a front three.
And Tottenham boss Postecoglou, 58, who coach the Australia national team for four years, has referenced those unorthodox positional calls from Southgate.
Speaking as an ITV pundit on Belgium’s win over Romania, he said: “It’s fairly extreme, particularly here in England [the reaction to poor performances].
“It’s actually predictable that the England story is pretty similar. You go in with high expectations, and there’s extreme reactions either way.
“I think it’s part of I think when you represent England in particular, you need to embrace that. You need to understand that. And I think for the most part, the players seem to be understanding that. And also there’s a fair bit of experience in there.
“I know there’s a lot of reference points where people say, well, in other tournaments England have sometimes made radical changes and it’s worked. I just don’t think that that’s the point they’re at at the moment.
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Pundits and legends lay into England
ENGLAND's lifeless display in the 1-1 draw with Denmark left pundits and legends queuing up to take a dig at Gareth Southgate's team.
Here’s the best of what was said…
ALAN SHEARER
“Awful performance, particularly after going up in the game.
“I don’t think one England player can look at themselves and say, ‘I’ve done my job tonight’.
“England were all over the place, far too sloppy in possession, gave the ball away too much and got caught too many times.
“There was no energy, no pace, no guile — Southgate is simply not getting the best out of England’s best players.
“It’s concerning and Gareth will get some serious questions.
“You saw England players lying on their backs — they look absolutely shattered but there’s no excuse for that.”
GARY LINEKER
The BBC host called the performance “lifeless and tepid”.
On Harry Kane he said: “He needs his manager to ask more of him. I would have expected that if I’d put in that kind of performance.”
RIO FERDINAND
“The players don’t look the same as they do for their clubs. It is a big concern.”
ROY KEANE
“Courage and bravery, we’re not really seeing it.
“There’s something amiss with the balance. Bellingham is waving his arms.
“This is a big test for Gareth. It looks like he’s overthinking things.”
JAMIE CARRAGHER
“My big worry watching this and for the rest of the tournament?
“England look absolutely knackered. They can’t get close to the ball.
“The surest sign of fatigue is dropping deep.
“Declan Rice is having to cover so much ground. No-one can convince me this is a strategy.”
JACK WILSHERE
“It’s strange that we have taken the lead in both games so far, yet instead of it settling us down and giving us the confidence to play, we have failed to take control.
“But what was most worrying was that Denmark had a clear way of playing — while we didn’t.”
“I’d like to see players just playing in their natural positions to start with. I think that’s your starting point.
“I think if you can get midfielders in the midfield areas, wingers in the winger’s areas, and if that’s the way you want to play, I think that helps you get a little bit of stability.”
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Postecoglou also addressed the experience England are drawing on from recent tournaments.
Southgate’s men had collected four points out of a possible six at each of their previous two major tournaments.
But while the Spurs head coach believes it can help to learn from the past, he also warned the England players they need to “stay in the present”.
He added: “I think experience does count in this scenario. Jordan [Pickford] referenced the last two tournaments quite a lot and I’m sure that’s the talk inside the camp. They’ve had four points before.
“I think the key to that though is you’ve still got to stay in the present.
“Just because you had four points in the past and things worked out ok, you still didn’t win. [That] doesn’t mean it’s gonna happen this time so I still think they’ve realised that there needs to be some impetus to their tournament.
“Now I think [the] next game gives them the opportunity to do that.
“Well, some momentum in terms of form, in terms of players maybe playing with a little bit more freedom and a little bit more confidence.
“I think if you don’t get that at some point in the tournament, it will get away from you.”
