England defender Kieran Trippier has given his backing to manager Gareth Southgate while admitting he understands the frustration some have had with the national team's Euro 2024 performances.
The Three Lions won their opening game 1-0 against Serbia before drawing with Denmark and Slovenia. Five points was enough for top spot in the group, though, keeping England in what is - on paper at least - the friendlier half of the draw.
Fans made their concerns clear after the goalless draw with Slovenia in Cologne, with some booing and others launching plastic cups in Southgate's direction. Amid calls for change, though, Trippier stuck by the boss.
“I’ve got the utmost respect for Gareth for what he has done for me personally and for my England career but, of course, us players get the frustration,” Trippier said. “All we can do after win, lose or draw is applaud the fans because we appreciate they have travelled out here in numbers and have spent so much money to come and support us.
“Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and, of course, they want to see more from us. Us players, we want to do more, but we have qualified. Hopefully the performances can get better.
“Being honest, I think we controlled the game [against Slovenia]. We created some chances, but again, we could do better. It’s fair to say, of course we can. But the most important thing is that our objective before tournament was to qualify, and we’ve done that, and we topped the group.
“The supporters spend their well-earned money to come and watch us, full credit to them because every tournament that I’ve been involved in, they’ve been incredible, out in Russia, where it’s difficult to travel, and out in Germany again.”
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Despite the failure to score against Slovenia, Southgate thought his team put in a better performance than in the previous games. "I thought we were much improved with the ball," the 53-year-old told ITV.
“We have created some good openings and at the moment it is hard work for us. We are not quite getting that break in front of goal. I think the players who came on did well. I understand the reactions but it is a tough environment. We tried to win the game by the changes we made. We put attacking players on the pitch.
"I understand the narrative towards me. That's better for the team than it being towards them. But it's creating an unusual environment to operate in. I've not seen any other team qualify and receive similar."
If England make it through their round of 16 match, they will be up against either Italy or Switzerland in the quarter-finals. Switzerland picked up five points from a group containing Germany, Hungary and Scotland, while Italy beat Albania and lost to Spain before earning a late draw against Croatia in their final group game to eliminate Zlatko Dalic's men.
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