10 things we learnt from England’s drab draw in Slovenia

Gareth’s excuse

After watching his side escape with a point, interim boss Southgate explained that he had inherited “a mess” following Sam Allardyce’s controversial departure last month.

Having led the Three Lions to a comfortable 2-0 victory over Malta at the weekend in his first of four games in charge, the 46-year-old seemed to hark back to ‘Big Sam’s’ reign and use his extraordinary exit over a corruption scandal as an excuse for England’s goalless encounter.

He said, “With the overall objective of qualifying, we have kept the team on track.

“But we have taken over a mess really and had to steady the ship.”