Football
PA Sport 6y

Gareth Southgate enjoying World Cup challenge with England

England are trying to enjoy the moment after booking their place at the 2018 World Cup, but Gareth Southgate's side know they face a battle to win the hearts and minds of a sceptical public.

The likes of Portugal, Netherlands and Italy might cast an envious eye at the Three Lions' qualification with a trip to Lithuania still to go but Thursday's arduous Wembley win over Slovenia -- a grind on the pitch and a trial in the stands -- felt anything but celebratory.

Harry Kane's injury-time effort at least ensured they crossed the line with a victory but with tens of thousands of seats left unclaimed, and those in attendance more entertained by their own paper planes than events on the field, the challenge was to re-engage with a careworn fanbase.

Asked if he was enjoying the tricky challenge of leading his country, Southgate said with a chuckle: "Weirdly, I am. Although I am not certain I am standing here thinking 'well, isn't it brilliant to qualify for the World Cup, I am feeling all the love' but I get it.''

Euro '96 is held as the high watermark for the national side in the Premier League era, with an entertaining team capturing the wider imagination on home soil before crashing out to Germany in a semifinal shootout.

Southgate, of course, missed the decisive penalty in that match and now finds himself in charge of rekindling the old affection.

"They might find it difficult to find much love for me with my history with England! I've managed to shoulder that for 20 years,'' he said.

"My job, my first objective, is to get the country to a World Cup finals. Then make the team as good as we possibly can and that's what I intend to do.

"The more we can play football which excites people and score goals, will of course start to win people over. We're in an era where it must be difficult for the supporters to relate to players because of what they earn and all of the hullabaloo that is around them. But these are good kids, desperate to play for England.''

The treasured status of Euro '96 relies on many things, including a timeless anthem from the Lightning Seeds, but central to the memory is an England team who conjured Paul Gascoigne's wonder goal against Scotland and a 4-1 demolition of the Netherlands.

All of which provides proof that England do not need to lift the the trophy in Russia next summer to make their mark.

"I think to go into the latter stages would be looked on as a success if I'm being honest,'' said defender Gary Cahill.

"I'm not saying let's go out in the latter stages and then it's been great. We've seen when England reached the semis in 1996, when Gareth was there, and I remember as a boy that felt massive. Yet we didn't win.

"From the fans' perspective, if you look at the last time we won anything for England it was a long, long time. So naturally they don't expect. But I'd like to think everyone is positive and behind us.''

Joe Hart, the squad's most experienced hand with 74 caps and two World Cup campaigns already under his belt, added: "We want to be part of that one special team that does something. It's not to prove people wrong, it's to make people happy.

"There's no bigger bug or buzz than being part of a good national team. I really enjoyed my good memories of 1996 and I'd love to give that feeling to some other children.''

It is unlikely those youngsters who witnessed this week's dour encounter felt that magic and Cahill admitted it made for an unusual night at Wembley.

"It was a bit strange,'' he said. "Of course you want the fans on-side. You want the whole country to be behind the team. It wasn't fantastic on the eye and yes, there's a lot we still have to learn, but we're trying to deliver with a young team.''

Hart sympathises with those who have felt let down in recent times, because he counts himself among them.

"I'm an England fan too,'' he said.

"As well as walking off the field gutted at the last tournaments as a player, I understand how people feel. It's our job to change that. The only way to do that is by doing well at a tournament.

"People probably are going to be cynical but at the back everyone's minds, they want us to do well.''

England's players could find themselves staying in unusually basic surroundings once in Russia, but Southgate is convinced it will be an enjoyable environment that will allow them to thrive.

Southgate has been on several fact-finding trips to Russia to look at potential training bases and hotels, with the ForRestMix Club in Repino, relatively close to St Petersburg and just 87 miles from the border with Finland, reported to have been settled on.

The hotel is off the beaten track and a far cry from the five-star Auberge du Jeu de Paume that England called home at Euro 2016, but Southgate -- a veteran of four major tournaments as a player -- believes they will have the right surroundings.

"We've obviously had a look at a few different bases, we've got a couple of different options but we're happy with all of those options,'' Southgate said.

"The most important thing for me is that we have a base that is exclusively ours.

"I think that gives the opportunity for the players to relax. It's important and I want their families to be able to come in at the right moments.

"Base camps don't win and lose tournament -- environment can have a part, but tactical, technical ability on the field will win it.

"So the base camp can mask or be used as an excuse for any number of different things.

"I think we will create a base camp that the players enjoy being at, within an atmosphere that they will enjoy being a part of it and they are going to have a fantastic life experience.

"I think the World Cup in Russia, from what I saw in the Confederations Cup, will be a really good tournament.''

Portugal and Chile were at the Confederations Cup but are in danger of missing out on the World Cup, as are the likes of Italy, Netherlands and Argentina.

England may have had an easier route but those potential absentees only underline how securing World Cup qualification is something to savour, both from the perspective of Southgate and his players.

Reaching the biggest stage a year after being parachuted into the hot seat vacated abruptly by Sam Allardyce is a big thing for the England boss, while his squad have endured a testing time since their chastening Euro 2016 exit to Iceland.

"The reality is we are underdogs at the moment, aren't we? I think the reality is that where we are,'' Southgate said of the country's standing building up to the World Cup.

"We played Iceland in the last Euros and we were favourites. We have to learn how to deal with being favourites.

"If we are playing a team that we think have better players, then we have to set up in a way to beat them.

"We have got to be able to deal with everything.''

Glamour friendlies against the likes of Germany and Brazil offers the chance to pit their wits against the best after a qualification campaign dominated by teams sitting deep and staying organised.

The inability to unlock the packed defences has frustrated onlookers and only increased concerns over a lack of creativity that becomes particularly stark when Adam Lallana and Dele Alli are unavailable.

Southgate knows he is not awash with such options, although talented if frustrating midfielder Jack Wilshere -- whose last international cap came in the Iceland loss -- is an option having returned to Arsenal following a loan at Bournemouth

"Well, we're in a position where there's no way we would dismiss any creative player, but of course people have to be playing and have to be playing consistently at a good level,'' the England boss said.

"I think in every position on the field, it's pretty clear what we have and in terms of building a team we've got to look at what we have and what we're capable of doing.

"What are our strengths and how do we build an effective team around that?''

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