THE Gareth Southgate song could still be heard in the early hours in Pristina.
“Southgate you’re the one, you still turn me on, football’s coming home again . . .”
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He is still a crowd pleaser but England’s head coach knows he is one bad tournament away from losing support from the terraces.
Southgate, looking ahead to the three Wembley group games at Euro 2020, said: “When you have a week like I’ve had, I sense that people can fall out of love with me.
“If there isn’t a warmth for me to continue after 2020, then that can start to affect the team.
“It will depend very much on how we get on next summer.
“I’m realistic about how quickly those tides can turn. But we have always planned short, mid and long term over the last few years.”
Southgate felt the heat last week because he had a massive call to make over Raheem Sterling.
It stressed him out — results help but this job throws up all sorts of social issues that impact negatively on the squad.
It is amplified around tournaments.
Southgate’s contract is up after the World Cup in 2022. The signs are he wants to see it through but he knows how easily things can change.
More progress must be made next summer, which roughly translates as a place in the final at Wembley.
And boss Southgate added: “Qualifying is a bit joyless in that way because I’m expecting us to win these games and so I’m always looking at how to get better.
“The players deserve huge credit for the way they have come through this campaign and the brilliant group of staff that I work with.
“We’ve had challenges, if you look at all the away trips in particular.
“For me, it’s about what’s next and I know in the end, we’ll always be judged ultimately by the tournaments.”
England will be among the favourites next summer — with Harry Kane guaranteed to score goals and Raheem Sterling plus Marcus Rashford to help.
Southgate added: “Most countries in the world would give for a No 9 like Harry.
“The other part we have to prove.
“We could sit here and say we’re ranked here or ranked there but we have been ranked in the top four or five since the World Cup.
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“We’ve earned that with our results against teams in the Nations League and during the World Cup.
“There’s no opportunity to switch off and we keep looking to improve.”
The defence remains an issue — despite back-to-back clean sheets.
Southgate admitted: “Some of our defence from set-plays needs work and we can get better at playing out.
“A lot of chances we concede are when we have given the ball away under high pressure. There’s always room for improvement.
“We’ve got to get every aspect right to have a chance.”
If they do not get it all right, Southgate might not be the one.
Southgate, combining the mission with the Club World Cup, said: “We’ve got to have belief in what we’re doing and execute the right preparation.”
He added: “When I started the job we looked at other federations.
“We were almost embarrassed to go and look at where we should be preparing for.
“Germany were always there and they had already secured the best bloody hotel.
“So we have had to be a bit bolder and say, ‘No, look, it’s not a jinx to go and do it’.”
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