LONDON • Gareth Southgate has said that England's performance at the European Championship next year is likely to determine whether he stays in charge for the 2022 World Cup.

The England boss is under contract for a further three years and will travel to the Club World Cup in Qatar next month as part of his planning for the World Cup there in November 2022.

"But that will depend very much on how we get on next summer," said the 49-year-old.

The Three Lions confirmed their place at Euro 2020 with last Thursday's 7-0 drubbing of Montenegro at Wembley, before they closed out the qualifying campaign with a 4-0 win over Kosovo in Pristina.

But it has been a turbulent week after the bust-up between Raheem Sterling and Joe Gomez, with Southgate criticised in some quarters for dropping Sterling for the Montenegro game.

"When you have a week like you've had, you sense that people can fall out of love with you," he said, referring to the backlash.

"If there isn't a warmth for you to continue, then that can start to affect the team. I'm realistic about how quickly those tides can turn."

Southgate, who became England manager in 2016, led the side to the World Cup semi-finals in Russia last year and they topped their Euro 2020 qualifying group to earn a seeding at the Finals.

England are set to play their group-stage matches at Wembley, which will also host the semi-finals and final, and Southgate said he was aware of soaring expectations.

"We've dealt well with the expectation over the last 18 months," he said. "We've not shirked from that where, in the past, there's been a tension around the performances and the style of the games.

"Securing qualification is a little bit joyless because I'm expecting us to win these games and I'm always looking at how to get better... For me, it's about what's next and I know we'll always be judged ultimately by the tournaments in the summer."

He is hoping to get a feel for the climate when he travels to Qatar, and look at potential options for an England training camp.

He will not get his squad back together until March, when they will play two friendlies, and he will have time to dwell on their shortcomings. But he believes that it was equally important to take reassurance from the team's strengths and they lie principally in the three-man attack of Harry Kane, Sterling and Marcus Rashford.

"When you look at that front three, that will be as good as any team in the tournament," he said.

REUTERS, THE GUARDIAN