Enough of the sulk.Start playing like you're enjoying it

ALTHOUGH Gareth Southgate was always clear that he would finish his current job either on an opentop bus parade or banished to the Tower of London, he probably didn't have the indignity of being pelted with plastic beer cups on his personal bingo card of humiliations inflicted on England managers.

He's been here before, of course, donning a cardboard box in an ill-advised pizza commercial to indicate his remorse at missing that Euro 96 penalty. And just as when stepping up to take that penalty in the semi-final against Germany when more technically-gifted players shirked the challenge, sometimes Southgate's sense of national duty does seem to take on a masochistic streak.

He didn't need to walk over to thank England fans, a mercurial bunch at the best of times, on Tuesday night in Cologne and must have been aware that a tepid 0-0 draw wouldn't necessarily provoke scenes of rapturous gratitude.

"I'm not going to back down from going over and thanking the fans who were brilliant during the game," he said later.

Southgate espouses an admirable old-fashioned Englishness, reminiscent of the Royal Marine grandfather he so admired growing up. But sometimes it leads to injudicious forays.