Gareth Southgate had plastic beer cups thrown at him by angry England fans, as his team limped into the last-16 of the European Championships as Group C winners.
Another uninspiring display in a goalless draw against Slovenia prompted supporters in Cologne to make their displeasure clear by booing the team off and launching plastic beer cups in the direction of Southgate, when he went over to applaud them at full-time.
Some fans clapped Southgate as he faced up to them, but others could be clearly seen giving him a piece of their minds. Two of the three beer cups that were thrown towards him did not hit the England manager, but did land near to his feet, with the other one falling well short.
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Asked whether he was aware of the beer cups being thrown at him and for his reaction to it, Southgate said: “Yeah, I understand it. I’m not going to back away from it.
“The most important thing is we stay with the team. I understand the narrative towards me. That’s better for the team than it being towards them, but it is creating an unusual environment to operate in. I’ve not seen any other team qualify and receive similar. I’m not going to back away from it.
“Firstly, the fans were exceptional in the second half with the team. That makes such a difference to them. I’m very very proud of the players. They kept composure in a game where they’ve come into it on the back of a really challenging environment.
“It’s taken me back to the days when I was playing with England. They’ve dealt with it really well. Composure with the ball, waiting for the opportunity. We dominated the second half.
“Of course, we would have loved to have sent the fans home happy, but we were definitely an improvement on the last game. It was important to win the group because you control your own destiny.”
Southgate: ‘We’ve made England fun again’
Southgate insisted that the reaction of the supporters will not change his approach or appetite to make England successful in Germany, where they could face Holland in the last 16.
He said: “I’m in a really good place. When you have moments like at the end of the game, I’m asking the players to be fearless, so I’m not going to back down from going to thank our fans at the end of the game.
“However they feel towards me, I get it, I’ve been around England for 20 years, I’ve seen it. My job is to guide the team through this and get the very best out of the team and keep this perspective for them. I’m very very happy with how they’ve handled the last few days in particular.”
