Thomas Tuchel insists he can and will cope with the pressure of managing England, having discovered in Barcelona on Saturday exactly how quickly the feel-good vibes can disappear.
Harry Kane scored in the second half to make it three World Cup-qualifying wins from three under Tuchel, though 1-0 against Andorra was not a scoreline worthy of celebration. Rather supporters saw it as embarrassing in how they struggled to break down a side ranked 173rd in the world.
Dissatisfied, they booed at half-time and then again at full-time, and Tuchel is not alone in managing an England team jeered by their own fans in a game against Andorra in Barcelona.
It happened in 2007 when Steve McClaren was in charge – 0-0 at half-time, 3-0 winners at full-time – and again in 2008 under Fabio Capello – 0-0 at half-time, 2-0 winners at full-time.
Neither McClaren nor Capello came close to making their England tenures a success, but Tuchel insists he is ready to embrace the heat that comes with being a national team’s head coach.
‘I always feel pressure as I am not happy with myself,’ said Tuchel, whose side will face Senegal in a friendly at Nottingham Forest’s City Ground on Tuesday.
Thomas Tuchel insists he can and will cope with the pressure of managing England
England may have beaten Andorra but there was little for the Three Lions to celebrate
‘The biggest pressure comes from myself. We have three wins and three clean sheets and we have a friendly match on Tuesday. I have felt more pressure than that.’
Reminded that England managers are judged differently to club bosses, he said: ‘Fair enough. I am always ready for that.’
Tuchel gave his England players a dressing-down after Saturday’s game, criticising their attitude and likening it to a favourite in a cup game not smelling the danger of a potential upset.
‘You were in the stadium,’ Tuchel told reporters. ‘What should I tell you? That we played a good match and are happy? The risk is only that you exaggerate it and make something of it that was not there. Everything I said, I said already to the team. There is no harm done.
‘We were not happy and no single player will be happy with what we showed. Why would the coach be? And why would we be shy of saying so? If we want to get better, we first need to address that we were not happy with the end of both halves.
‘Everything I say I tell the players. We played with fire. We didn’t play like we have to play in a World Cup qualifier when we were only 1-0 up.’
If England perform poorly against Senegal, Tuchel’s honeymoon will have been short-lived, and sides preparing to play in the Club World Cup will be keen to know his team selection. Chelsea had three starters against Andorra in Reece James, Noni Madueke and Cole Palmer, and they have a full tournament in the United States fast approaching.
Tuchel is not alone in managing an England team jeered by their own fans in a game
The same goes for Bayern Munich and Harry Kane, with Ivan Toney an unused substitute against Andorra. ‘I have seen him in training and I made my decisions and the guys who were on the pitch absolutely deserved it,’ Tuchel said when asked about Toney. ‘Harry showed the attitude in the end to bring it over the line. He was one of the very few who stepped up.’
Pressed further on Toney, Tuchel said: ‘It’s not the time now to talk about Ivan Toney.’ Asked why, he answered: ‘Because we just played a game and we must analyse the game and it’s not the moment now to talk about Ivan who didn’t play.’
