Jamie Carragher claims English football ‘was s**** for years’ before Gareth Southgate’s appointment

Jamie Carragher has been quick to defend England manager Gareth Southgate as pressure continues to mount after a sixth consecutive game without a win in a run dating back to March.

The Sky pundit has taken to Twitter to support the besieged Three Lions boss, claiming he has transformed the national team after years of poor results.

England fought back from 2-0 down, earning a creditable 3-3 draw against a German side that had been struggling of their own lately, in their final game before the World Cup in November.

Carragher wrote on Twitter: ‘You would think England would have won countless tournaments given the stick Southgate gets!

“It had been s***e for years before he got the job. Big Sam had the job for him!!’

When a Twitter user commented that Carragher was “afraid to hype a true golden generation,” he replied, “A maximum of one or two players from this current team would be on the 2002/06 squad and the same with 1996/98.” .’

Southgate’s appointment as England manager has changed the fate of a Three Lions squad that had not reached the quarter-finals of a tournament since 2012.

England reached the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup in Russia, losing in extra time to Croatia, before suffering a heartbreaking final loss of Euro 2020 against Italy at Wembley.

England are now without a win in their last six games since beating Ivory Coast 3-0 in March

But despite winning more than 60 per cent of games in the dugout, Southgate’s position has come under serious scrutiny of late following England’s shocking string of results.

Many have criticized his tactical approach, with the former Middlesbrough and Aston Villa defender often opting for a back-five, which his critics found too conservative for a side with a wealth of attacking options.

The decision to stick with Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw – despite not playing for their clubs – has also attracted a lot of criticism.

The Three Lions ended their goal drought in a pulsating 3-3 draw with Germany

England looked destined for defeat on Monday night after Maguire conceded a penalty in the second half and Kai Havertz curled home a stunning attempt to make it 2-0 for the visitors.

But Shaw, Mason Mount and Harry Kane quickly turned things around and put the home side 3-2 with just six minutes left before a howler from Nick Pope gave Havertz a golden opportunity to equalize, which he grabbed.

England’s World Cup opener sees them take on Iran, and Southgate will submit his final 23-26 squad for November 13.