Kieran Trippier admits England want to “do more” at Euro 2024 and says the players share the same frustrations as fans following a dreary draw against Slovenia.
Tuesday’s goalless stalemate in Cologne saw England win Group C, advancing in top spot despite three forgettable performances in Germany so far.
Gareth Southgate’s side finally showed flickers of what they might be capable of achieving over the next couple of weeks but, on the whole, it was a thoroughly average display.
While the supporters inside the stadium were at fever pitch for much of the second half, they jeered the full-time whistle in their droves and two plastic cups were launched from the stands towards Southgate as he applauded the travelling numbers.
“I’ve got the utmost respect for Gareth for what he has done for me personally and for my England career but, of course, us players get the frustration,” said Trippier.
“All we can do after win, lose or draw is applaud the fans because we appreciate they have travelled out here in numbers and have spent so much money to come and support us.
“Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and, of course, they want to see more from us. Us players, we want to do more, but we have qualified. Hopefully the performances can get better.
“Being honest, I think we controlled the game. We created some chances, but again, we could do better. It’s fair to say, of course we can. But the most important thing is that our objective before tournament was to qualify, and we’ve done that, and we topped the group.
“The supporters spend their well-earned money to come and watch us, full credit to them because every tournament that I’ve been involved in, they’ve been incredible, out in Russia, where it’s difficult to travel, and out in Germany again.”
Trippier, who has been operating at left-back with Luke Shaw still fighting his way back to full fitness, has called on the senior players within Southgate’s ranks to coax the younger members through the tough patch.
“There is always pressure,” he added.
“This is my fourth tournament for England and in every single tournament there is pressure. But us as players, especially the senior players, try to help guide the group.
The #ThreeLions head into the #EURO2024 knockout stage as group winners 💪 pic.twitter.com/S8oMxjfuA7
— England (@England) June 25, 2024
“We know we can improve, we get that and we need to analyse that. But the most important thing was to top the group and qualify and we have done that.
“I think we can play so much better, it’s fair to say. I don’t want to be too negative because we have topped the group.
“We’ve got so much talent in this squad and it’s fair to say we’ve not created as much as we would like, but that’s for us players, staff, to look back and reflect on what we could have done better in the group.”