England moving in the 'right direction' - Southgate says despite relegation

England manager Gareth Southgate believes his team is on the right path despite recent poor results and problems.

The Three Lions suffered a narrow 1-0 loss to Italy on Friday night in the Nations League at San Siro.

It was the second consecutive defeat for England, which has now gone five (5) matches without a win in the competition.

Southgate's Lions have also managed just one goal in those five matches, which has seen them rooted at the bottom of their group.

The defeat to Italy also meant the Three Lions have been relegated from League A to B. But according to the underfire coach, there is no cause for concern as his team is on the right path.

"It's difficult for me to be too critical of the performance," the England manager stated, according to the BBC.

"We had more possession, more shots, more shots on target. For large parts of the game we played very well," he added.

"Lots of good individual performances. I personally thought the performance is a step in the right direction. I completely understand because of the result that is not going to be the reaction," he added.

While Southgate believes his team performed well against Italy, the Three Lions have failed to win any of the last four, including a 4-0 defeat at home to Hungary.

Given their current form, England fans have called for the sack of the former Middlesborough man as they have lost confidence in his ability heading into the 2022 World Cup.

However, the 52-year-old wants the fans to stick with the team and has sent a message to them.

"We're in a period where we have to come together. The fans are probably frustrated and they have to stick with us because we've got a big tournament coming up," Southgate concluded.

"To win that tournament or progress in that tournament we need the fans with us, so whatever has happened in recent months we are working tirelessly hard to improve that and get back on track."

England will take on Iran, Wales and the United States of America in Group B at the World Cup slated to kick off this November in Qatar.