Gareth Southgate must win the European Championships this summer if he wants to remain England manager, according to Simon Jordan.
It’s been a 58-year wait for the Three Lions since their previous and, to date, only major tournament success, when they beat West Germany 4-2 to win the 1966 World Cup.
England fans have endured mostly misery and heartbreak since. However, under Southgate, there have been reasons for pride and optimism, with the former Middlesbrough defender guiding the national team to the World Cup semi-finals and quarter-finals in 2018 and 2022, respectively, while they reached the Euro 2020 final and finished third in the 2018/19 Uefa Nations League.
Nevertheless, a gold medal and silverware still elude them.
This summer, the Three Lions head to Germany as one of the two major pre-tournament favourites alongside France and despite some worries about their defensive line-up, anything but bringing home the trophy will be seen as a disappointment.
Southgate’s last stand?
Despite the improvement England have enjoyed under Southgate, his failure to land a major trophy has left him heading into the Euros with a point to prove.
That’s only intensified by the fact his side have often failed to deliver when facing strong, in-form nations, losing to Belgium twice at the 2018 World Cup, losing the 2018/19 Nations League semi-final to the Netherlands, the Euro 2020 final to Italy and the 2022 World Cup quarter-final to France.
Former Crystal Palace owner Simon Jordan believes Southgate simply must find a way to convert near-misses into genuine success, or pay with his job.
“If you don’t do it now with Southgate, you’re never going to do it. You’ve got the Southgate admirers and the Southgate detractors,” Jordan said on talkSPORT.
“Even the most ardent of Southgate admirers, people like Stuart Pearce that would not have a word said against him, accepted 18 months ago that if we don’t win this European Championship, then really and truly, he’s had four tilts at it, that’s the end of the discussion.
“So the question is more qualified, if we don’t do it now in this tournament with Southgate, we’re probably never going to do it with Southgate.
“Yes, we are going to do it [win a major trophy] because we’re developing a new generation of players with more talent, we’re going to lose some players and replace them.
“But if Southgate doesn’t win this tournament, there can be no another spin on the wheel, even if they get to a semi-final and get knocked out by some spawny penalty.
“You have to overcome adversity, you have to be able to find a winning mechanism.”
