Watch moment Slovakia kit man BEATBOXES during press conference after losing bet ahead of England clash at Euro 2024

IN the space of a week, we seem to have lost the Gareth Southgate who brought the feel-good factor back to English football, writes Charlie Wyett.

Here is a man who now looks battered and bruised from the fierce criticism he has received not only back home but also from a couple of former England players.

We live in a world where too many pundits are cheerleaders and while Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer were correct in their evaluation of the Three Lions after the 1-1 draw with Denmark, it has nevertheless gone down badly with Southgate.

The manager says he is on a mission to protect his players from all the s*** that is flying around but he must also ensure he does not lose focus.

In his eight years as England manager, he had never appeared so chilled going into the opening two games.

The mood was upbeat around the team’s Euro base in Blankenhain. Southgate was in good humour during all of his media duties.

Here was a man confident in the knowledge he had a group of players capable of winning Euro 2024.

But in the fall-out of the two draws against Denmark and Slovenia, his mood has darkened spectacularly. He has had some tough spells but none like this.

One of the 53-year-old’s big strengths has been the ability to tap into each and every England fan and create positivity.

No supporter will ever forget the summer of 2018 when they finally fell in love with the England football team.

Yet Southgate knows he has lost the trust of virtually the entire English supporting public.

He suffered abuse and ridicule after England lost 4-0 to Hungary in the Nations League in 2022 but this is at a different level.

Southgate is acutely aware how the whole mood of the nation has changed.

Over these last few weeks, Southgate has made some strange decisions.

It was a mistake to take Luke Shaw as his sole left-footed defender and only now is he anywhere near to being fit.

Marc Guehi has been England’s best player over the three matches so far but Ezri Konsa and Lewis Dunk are not ideal back-ups.

Southgate should have picked either Harry Maguire, despite his short-term injury issues, or Bayern Munich’s Eric Dier.

Jordan Henderson — despite not having a great end to the season with Ajax — should have been included as he would have had a month to get up speed in terms of sharpness.

Even if he was not ready to start, he is a winner  — as he proved with Liverpool — and he would have been a steady,  experienced influence in the dressing room. As for Southgate’s team selections, the Trent Alexander-Arnold experiment did not work.

Neither did putting Conor Gallagher next to Declan Rice against Slovenia.

Although Marcus Rashford and James Maddison could not have too many complaints over missing out, Jack Grealish should have been included even if it was to come off the bench.

Southgate went too far with his mixing and matching. Now, he is left with a squad lacking balance but equally, one which could go deep into this tournament.

Southgate needs his big players like Jude Bellingham, Harry Kane and Phil Foden to play without fear.

Those same players need Southgate to try not to be affected by public opinion, even if this includes some of his mates.

Also, Southgate needs to get all of his team selections right. And maybe then, he will leave the England job on a high.

Read all of Charlie Wyett’s Euro 2024 articles.