Gareth Southgate can strengthen England job chances by injecting pace and purpose after difficult summer

Getting stuck in: Wayne Rooney tackles Manchester United team-mate Jesse Lingard during England training
Getty Images
James Olley7 October 2016

When the FA first advertised tickets were on general sale for England versus Malta in mid-August, it was accompanied by a quote from Sam Allardyce: “The journey starts with us all pulling together.”

That sentiment feels even more appropriate now. The result may be in little doubt before kick-off but England’s clash with Malta is a chance for Gareth Southgate and his players to signpost the path to a brighter future.

England are as short as 1-200 to secure victory at Wembley tomorrow and such one-sided fixtures usually reinforce the view that the structure of international football needs revising to increase interest outside of tournament formats.

The FA are expecting a crowd of around 85,000 and while that figure is another remarkable demonstration of supporters’ enduring loyalty, they arrive with more uncertainty surrounding the team than in recent times.

The first home match after a tournament disappointment is often a cathartic affair necessary for the national healing. Allardyce’s departure after 67 days and one underwhelming performance in charge has heightened the sense of turmoil created by England’s Euro 2016 exit to Iceland.

Southgate may have more concerted aspirations to land the England job on a permanent basis than he lets on but it is obvious he also felt a sense of duty to step into the maelstrom threatening to engulf the FA after last week’s damaging newspaper allegations.

He has rightly cited the need for stability and was keen not to etch Allardyce from history: England may have required a stoppage-time winner but they secured an important victory against Slovakia that provides a platform from which they can establish control of their 2018 World Cup qualifying group.

Such is the nominal challenge posed by a team that have lost 24 of their last 33 matches since October 2012 — Malta’s four victories in that period came against Liechtenstein, Armenia, Faroe Islands and Lithuania — that a 3-0 win is probably about par for England tomorrow.

Scotland beat them 5-1 in Ta’Qali last month and a team ranked 176 by FIFA — sharing that position with Laos — will arrive in London seeking merely to maintain parity as long as possible.

England must start quickly with pace and purpose. They laboured too often in possession against Slovakia in similar fashion to their performances at the Euros and Southgate is the latest man charged with responsibility of injecting ingenuity and dynamism into England’s play. As an FA man, Southgate is firmly committed to the ‘England DNA’ blueprint which demands possession-based football allied to penetrative attacking and in the short four-game timeframe the 46-year-old has been afforded, any progress in this area would strengthen his candidacy for the role on a permanent basis.

Just over three months have passed since England’s humiliation in Nice but only through a series of positive displays brimming with genuine signs of evolution can engender fresh hope for the next World Cup.

“I think it’s a matter of the team gelling,” said Manchester United midfielder Jesse Lingard. “In the Under-21s we had a team that was together for pretty much three years. So for the first team to get together and go on a roll, we all need to gel by doing a lot of team bonding, which we have been doing, and it’s helping us.”

Southgate’s intimate knowledge of several squad members from the younger age groups should give him a better chance of hitting the ground running. The inclusion of Lingard and Marcus Rashford is another nod to youth and it is in the potential of England’s more unexposed players that renewed optimism can be drawn.

Harry Kane’s absence through injury creates a blank canvas for Southgate to formulate a new-look attack. Wayne Rooney’s preference to play further forward could influence his thinking while the prospect of starting Rashford must appeal given his fearless attitude and the wide margin for error against a team posing such a limited threat as Malta.

John Stones will surely be given the opportunity to continue acclimatising to senior international football; his fondness for advancing into midfield with the ball will be encouraged as Malta defend in numbers for prolonged periods.

Standard Sport's Danny Murphy picks his England starting XI to face Malta

The tougher test will come on Tuesday in Slovenia and it would be useful for those still attempting to consign Euro 2016 to history if they had a morale-boosting win achieved in authoritative fashion; much has been made of the psychological difficulties England players seemingly encounter and the longer it stays goalless, the more agitated those involved and fans watching on will become. “The main focus is on moving forwards — we’ve got two tough games now and hopefully we’ll get victories,” added Lingard. “It’s a case of working hard on and off the field and it’s a tight-knit group. So if we get a victory then we can move on from there.”

With Southgate now at the helm, that journey begins again.

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