Gary Lineker has doubled down on calling England “s---” at last summer’s European Championship and said the team “probably outgrew” Sir Gareth Southgate by the end of his reign.
The BBC’s outgoing Match of the Day presenter infuriated Southgate’s side at the time with his verdict on their dismal 1-1 draw against Denmark.
Speaking after the game in June on his own The Rest is Football podcast, he said: “I can’t imagine anybody that is English that would have enjoyed England’s performance. Because it was lethargic. It was dour. I mean, you can think of all sorts of words and expletives, if you like, but it was s---.”
After England captain Harry Kane took a swipe back at Lineker and co-host Alan Shearer over their criticism, Lineker initially said in a newspaper interview that “I got shafted a bit with that”.
Now, however, he has said in a wide-ranging interview with The Sunday Times that he was right to criticise the England performance in such terms.
“If I’d said the word ‘poor’ it wouldn’t have [been accurate] – and it was s---,” he says. “I mean, people get hung up over a swear word. It’s just four letters in a different order to other words. Like ‘this’.
“But, yeah, I didn’t feel anything at the time. I’d just said whatever I thought. I mean, God we were awful in those early games. [On a podcast] you can’t pretend. You can’t say, ‘Oh, actually they weren’t that bad’. You’ve just got to be honest – and we do it in a fair way. I met many of the players subsequently and they all absolutely agreed. Hahaha.”
Lineker said he believed “there was something wrong” in the England camp last summer despite their progression to the final of the tournament.
“I haven’t seen Gareth since,” he added. “But Gareth was brilliant for England. He took us to two finals, a semi and a quarter in four tournaments. Admittedly, by the end, we’ve got an incredible plethora of talent. But, you know, Gareth’s a defensive coach. There’s nothing wrong with that.
“I just think the team probably outgrew him in the end. They didn’t quite reach their absolute potential, but they were still young. But Gareth’s been amazing and more important is how he reconnected the national team with the people. That’s really important. We were in absolute turmoil when he took over. A mess. But there was something wrong in the summer. I couldn’t understand what it was myself.”
Lineker’s 25-year stint as a regular Match of the Day anchor ends this summer, with Kelly Cates, Mark Chapman and Gabby Logan replacing him on a revolving rota. The former England, Leicester City, Tottenham and Barcelona marksman said he is looking forward to enjoying weekends off for the first time in his adult life.
“It’s the right time,” said Lineker of his decision to step back. “I need to slow down a little bit and enjoy life. I mean, I still watch football all the time, I love it, but now I’ll have a weekend.
“I’ve never in my adult life had weekends. Ever. So I’m quite enjoying the thought of going out and having a bite on a Saturday night. And I might even go home and watch Match of the Day.”
