Gareth Southgate was impressed with the way his England team came through a high-pressure occasion but accepted that there was plenty of room for improvement after some “sloppy” play in their 3-0 win over Scotland.
England were able to see the last half-hour out in comfort at Wembley, but it had not been a straightforward night’s work before that, with Scotland missing a handful of chances to equalise Daniel Sturridge’s opener and the hosts showing an alarming sloppiness in possession at times.
“[It was important] for the players to come through in a real pressure environment and in the end enjoy their football,” Southgate said in his postmatch news conference. “The game is always different when the score is as it was in the last 10 or 15 minutes, so they were able to experience playing at Wembley with freedom and some lovely interplay.
“However, before that point there were moment where we were less controlled and had to dig in at times. Some of our play with the ball, and our interchanging was very exciting but some of our first-phase build-up play was sloppy and we caused our own problems.
“There’s lots to reflect and improve upon, but also some really pleasing things. We pressed with energy and that was something we were conscious to give our supporters.”
England had laboured in their two previous matches under Southgate’s tenure, a win over Malta and a goalless draw in Slovenia, but the interim manager said their performance on Friday night showed clear progress.
“I’m delighted to able to deliver that result for everybody,” he said. “I know what it means to the country. The players wanted to respond in the right way to what they’ve been through in the last few months and I think today was a real step forward in their belief in what they’re capable of.”
Southgate accepted that the spell shortly before Adam Lallana scored England’s second goal, when James Forrest and Robert Snodgrass both had chances to equalise for Scotland, was critical, but praised his side’s ability to take their chances.
“That was probably a key moment in the game,” he said. “Again it was our lack of concentration, or sloppiness. We will have to be sharper in those moments, definitely. But we were pretty ruthless in front of goal and we created good chances at times.
“We discussed in the week that we’ve taken the wrong option at times in the last few games, but today we were a bit more patient in working the ball into better areas and we punished them when we got the chances.”
The result does the prospect of a longer-term spell in charge for Southgate little harm but he refused to make predictions about his future when pressed.
“That’s not my decision,” he said. “I’m really pleased that I was given the task of picking the job up in a very difficult situation for everybody, and I feel that we’ve prepared the team really well and I’ve enjoyed working with them.
“We’ve now got a different challenge to prepare for against Spain [in a friendly on Tuesday], which will be a great test for us, and the rest is out of my hands.”
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