Teddy Sheringham believes Gareth Southgate has been a victim of his previous success with England after the criticism that has come his way at Euro 2024.
The Three Lions have made it to the quarter-final stage in Germany but have struggled to show their best form, with a sensational Jude Bellingham equaliser in stoppage time preventing an embrassing exit to Slovakia in the last 16 before Harry Kane scored the winner in extra-time.
Southgate says the negativity surrounding their underwhelming performances this summer has created a “difficult environment” for the players as they prepare to take on Switzerland in the quarter-finals on Saturday.
But ex-51-cap international Sheringham believes previous tournaments under former team-mate Southgate, which include reaching the World Cup semi-final in 2018 and the final of Euro 2020, has significantly raised expectations among supporters.
Speaking to 101 Great Goals on behalf of Poker Sites, Sheringham said: “Well, you know that they brought it on themselves that they’re getting a criticism for not playing flowing football, because they’ve done well in previous competitions so the expectancy levels goes up with the public.
A night that will live long in the memory.
Now for the quarter-finals! 👊
— England (@England) June 30, 2024
“And when he first took over, the rest of the media were very soft on Gareth. And they allowed him to get the team together and get the confidence together and produce football. Back then we didn’t expect any success.
“But now because we’ve done so well, everybody expects us to roll teams over convincingly and it doesn’t always work like that.
“So I’m not trying to, you know, butter it up. It hasn’t been great. But they’re still still grinding out results, like you often do in English football.
“Sometimes. It’s not all free flowing football, but we’re grinding out results.”
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‘England are strong enough to deal with pressure’
Bellingham is one of several players to speak out against the negativity, with the Real Madrid star labelling some of the comments aimed at the team as “rubbish”.
“Sometimes it feels like there’s a pile-on from the fans… moments like tonight throw it back to some people” 👀
Jude Bellingham on how England’s dramatic 2-1 win over Slovakia can hush the doubters… 🍿 pic.twitter.com/bK3D24sKXq
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) June 30, 2024
But Sheringham, who represented England at three major tournaments, believes the extra pressure is part and parcel of playing for the Three Lions and that his stunning 95th-minute bicycle kick in Gelsenkirchen proves he can handle it.
The 58-year-old added: “I don’t think they’re getting any more criticism than other England teams have in the past.
“You go back to the Graham Taylor era when the team and the manager were getting absolutely slaughtered, really killed.
“And now we’ve all seen the things about Gareth Southgate being a bit cautious and wearing a seatbelt on the toilet and all that, there’s so many different clips.
“But that’s to be expected now with social media and I think Gareth is big enough and strong enough to understand that and that life is changing with social media.
“Things are changing, it sounds naughty, but it’s not anything that these boys can’t handle. You have to go through these periods to get to the next level when you’re growing up in football.
“When you’re on trial or going out or when you’re playing your first game at the next level or in the first game in the Premier League, there’s always different pressure to deal with. You know, there’s always different steps-ups to make for all footballers.
“They’ve played under pressure that’s why they playing at the top because they love playing under pressure, just like Bellingham showed.”
