Southgate and Three Lions may have to be patient

Gareth Southgate should make a winning start as England manager against Malta at Wembley but the new boss may have to wait before the floodgates swing open.

Sam Allardyce’s surprise departure is unlikely to leave any lasting damage on the Three Lions squad considering he had only one game in charge and a number of the current pool will have known Southgate from his time as the Under-21 manager.

Southgate has said the right things in his press conferences this week but ultimately he will be judged on results with Tuesday’s trip to Slovenia a far more likely stumbling block than outsiders Malta.