'It's a strange environment': Gareth Southgate's new excuse for poor England performance at Euro 2024

England manager Gareth Southgate has claimed that negativityaround the squad was creating an 'unusual atmosphere' which could be the reasonfor thepoor performance at the ongoing European Championship in Germany.Although England topped Group C with five points to advance to the Round of 16, England have looked timid on the ball and failed to play an entertaining brand of football.

After the final league match against Slovenia on Tuesday (Jun 25), boos could be heard around the Olympiastadion Berlin with some reports claiming that fans threw cups towards Southgate as well.

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"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," said Southgate in the post-match interview.

"I understand some of the reactions but it's a strange environment we're playing in," he added.

'We had a lot of issues'

Contrary to the criticism by pundits and fans, Southgate said England played better and created chances at a much more frequent click.

"I thought we were much improved with the ball, we've created some good openings and at the moment it's hard work for us because we're not quite getting that break in front of goal," said the English gaffer.

"So many things are starting to come together. We had a lot of issues coming into the tournament and today we looked more dangerous, we had a good impact from our substitutes, and we've got just now to convert our chances."

England's midfield woes

Prior to the match, Southgate caught flak for claiming that England were missing the services of Kalvin Phillips, despite the West Ham United player having a considerable drop in form in the last couple of years.

England are yet to stabilise their midfield as Southgate struggles to profile the right players. He has already dropped Trent Alexander-Arnold and Conor Gallagher from the midfield, despite giving them poor conditions to play the natural game they exhibit at the club level.

As for the forward line, Southgate has placed Phil Foden on the left flank where he has been relatively neutralised by opposition teams. Harry Kane, who likes coming deep into the midfield to hit the runners behind, has also struggled to conjure up his magic.

(With inputs from agencies)