Harry Kane came out firing arrows at England's critics... the Three Lions captain is not taking this lying down at Euro 2024, writes SAMI MOKBEL

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It was ironic that Harry Kane spoke of his passion for boxing yesterday because the England captain came out swinging here at Blankenhain Castle.

This was as polished and forthright a public appearance as we’ve seen from Kane. Assertive, engaging and honest. In a week in which Gareth Southgate’s side — and Kane himself — have faced burning criticism, the striker showed the world he wasn’t taking it lying down.

This was Kane on the front foot, unleashing a passionate call to arms as he sought to ease the growing concerns of a nation who have been seriously underwhelmed by England’s start here at Euro 2024.

‘I love my other sports and always in these tournaments, at this early stage, it is almost like a boxer in the first couple of rounds seeing how they feel,’ explained Kane, who took part in the traditional player-versus-press darts competition yesterday. ‘Or a golfer in the first round of a major — don’t play yourself out of the tournament. Be calm. That is where we are at.

‘We are looking at where we need to improve and, of course, we can improve, but it is not the time to panic and change everything. People are going to have their opinions — all I would say is, trust us.

England have put in underwhelming performances in their first two Euro 2024 group games

It has led to Gareth Southgate's side being heavily criticised from all angles over recent days

But captain Harry Kane came out swinging on Sunday and unleashed a passionate call to arms

‘As players, a lot of us have been here before. Trust us as much as possible, get behind us and help us achieve what we want to achieve.

‘We absolutely believe we can win it. It’s always a hard one, you can win the first two games 3-0 and get carried away.

‘Then you come up against some adversity in the first knockout game and you’re out. I don’t think it is a bad thing to go through a bit of a tough time to begin with, it widens the focus and makes you realise you can be a bad game away from being out of the tournament.

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‘We’ve coped with that well in past tournaments. It’s always a different journey for different teams. Whether we are classed as favourites or not, we’ve always had belief we can win it and it’s down to us to go out there and try and achieve that.’

Much of the gripping 40-minute media briefing was spent discussing the punditry reaction to England’s slow start to the tournament, particularly Gary Lineker branding Thursday’s 1-1 draw against Denmark as ‘s***’.

Kane was firm and measured in his response to the broadsides that had gone viral over the previous 72 hours. These weren’t the rantings of an angry, incoherent footballer, rather one of a man who knew how to deal with the line of questioning he knew was coming.

Yet it was clear he wanted to get something off his chest. And why not? He is the England captain, after all.

His move to point out how those feeding into the negativity — a pool of pundits including Lineker, Alan Shearer and Rio Ferdinand — have all played their own roles in England’s dismal 58-year trophy famine was a masterstroke. Pot, kettle, black was the thrust of Kane’s accusation. It’s hard to argue with his point. ‘I think it’s almost impossible not to see some stuff nowadays with all the different platforms,’ said Kane.

Gary Lineker labelled England's performance 's***' after their 1-1 draw with Denmark 

Kane responded in measured fashion but wasn't afraid to fire arrows back at England's critics

But, the Bayern Munich star did admit his performances had been below his usual standard

‘Everyone’s entitled to their own opinion and I know when major tournament football is on, it’s always going to be heightened.

‘If I’m honest with myself, have I played the best that I know I can? No. But I’d always judge myself first and I know that I can play better and I know a lot of players in the team think the same — that we can all play a little bit better.’ Of course, the only way Kane and his team-mates can truly extinguish the unfavourable judgments is by making progress on the pitch.

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Kane spoke intriguingly yesterday about the troubles the team have encountered in trying to implement their press against Serbia and Denmark because both teams played a system with three centre backs.

Finding a solution to those problems will be easier said than done given the tight turnarounds between games.

‘That’s where the team meetings and debriefs become even more important because physically there’s not a lot of time,’ said Kane. ‘We can’t be pushing training for two hours and going again and again. So just from the mental point of view, looking at the videos and clips is really important to take that in and that’s a vital part of trying to improve in tournament football.

‘I think we’ve been a bit loose with the ball in comparison to how we’ve been in recent years and that’s led to more time without the ball than we are used to. I don’t think we’ve quite got the pressure right or the intensity right. We have not pressed with enough energy, enthusiasm, which will need to change going forward. That’s down to us to find a solution. It’s not a time to panic and feel like we need to change everything that we’ve built over all these years.’

Ultimately, however, Kane knows the consequences of failure here in Germany.

The criticism will intensify. The frustrations will boil over. And, most pertinently of all, Southgate’s future will be thrown into even more uncertainty.

Kane’s bond with Southgate is watertight. If Southgate does walk away from the England job, then Kane will be among those who will feel it the heaviest.

‘I can’t speak highly enough of Gareth and what he has done for this team and the nation,’ said the Bayern Munich striker.

Kane also backed the under-fire Southgate and insisted no one is better placed for the job

Kane similarly urged the public to trust England's squad and claimed there is no need to panic

‘In terms of where we were and where we are now as a team, it’s completely different. I think he’s brilliant on the details and making sure there is no stone unturned. Everyone knows what they are doing.

‘Just as a person, (he gives) us the freedom going into games to be ourselves, whether that is off the pitch or on the pitch. I think being England manager is a really difficult job, he knows that and we know that. There are always going to be people who criticise or doubt him but his record speaks for itself — it’s really successful with us.

‘But like all of us, he’s determined to take that next step and win it, and that’s what we’re all really determined to do. He will do what’s best for the nation and make the decision that is best for the team.

‘All I will say is, get behind him and support him as the players do. He is absolutely (the right man for the job).’