Harry Maguire has called for England fans to once again throw their full support behind the Three Lions in the coming months as the Qatar World Cup approaches.
Gareth Southgate’s side drew 0-0 with Italy in an underwhelming Nations League match on Saturday, leaving the team winless in three games after the 1-0 Hungary defeat and 1-1 Germany draw.
“I know we drew 0-0, but there’s positives to take, lots of good performances,” Maguire told talkSPORT’s Faye Carruthers in the immediate aftermath.
“Obviously lots of areas to improve as well. We take the positives and we work on the areas to improve. We know we can do better
“Over the last three game we’ve scored one goal.
“And the chances that we’ve created warrant a lot more than one goal, so we’ve gotta be a little bit more clinical.”
Criticism has come in for England over the past week as these three games have taken place.
After a tough season with Manchester United, this is not something Maguire is unaccustomed to.
“Well I know from playing at my club level that when you don’t win a football match, the criticism comes,” he said in response.
“And playing at this level as an international for England is exactly the same.
“We’ve shown over the last four or five years now that it doesn’t affect us.
“We’ve reached a World Cup semi-final, we were a penalty a shootout away from lifting the Euros in our home country and giving the fans probably the best summer of their lives.
“So obviously it’s frustrating not to score goals, we’ve created enough chances to score goals and we feel like we’re in a good place with areas to improve.”
Asked about criticism of the manager Southgate, Maguire issued a renewed rallying cry to the England fans.
“I think he’s brought top-level football back to the country,” Maguire said of his gaffer.
“And I know when you start winning things and getting close, the expectations become higher and higher.
“But he’s brought that expectation back to what it was years ago.
“It’s been years since we were competitive in these top games.
“We’ve reached a World Cup semi-final when no-one thought we had a chance of going anywhere, the Euros final which was obviously a huge occasion under the biggest amount of pressure.
“I think his record speaks for itself. I don’t need to speak too much about Gareth in terms of what he’s done for this country.
“But of course, the more you win football matches, the higher the expectation comes.
“And then when you don’t win one in three games, then obviously there’s gonna be scrutiny.
“But I’m sure we can cope with that and one thing I say is get behind us like they have done.
“The fans have always been brilliant, so get behind us like they do every tournament.
“It’s gonna be an exciting tournament and one that we need to make sure that we’re ready for.”
Source: Talk Sport