Aidy Boothroyd has won 30 of his 47 games since taking charge of the England Under-21 team.
England Under-21 coach Aidy Boothroyd believes his side will not succeed after a second successive group stage loss at the European Championships.
Due to the defeats of Switzerland and Portugal, England must beat Croatia to still have a chance of reaching the quarter-finals.
He said the work of English seniors was described as impossible.
The England Under-21 team is an absolutely impossible task.
Boothroyd, who led the U21s to the quarter-finals in 2017, said the way England’s international structure is set up limits the U21s’ chances of winning tournaments.
You can’t win them all, Boothroyd said.
One of the reasons we haven’t won in 37 years is that the role [of the U21s] is to bring players to the first team.
Boothroyd said he felt he had done a successful job and revealed he was in regular contact with manager Gareth Southgate, while FA technical director John McDermott is in Slovenia for his team.
Are we on the same page? Absolutely. Throughout the process, we are on the same page, Boothroyd said.
There’s no point in working in youth training if you think your job is to win every game and not train players for the senior team.
We won in the younger age groups, and as they matured, they took over. This is how it works. That’s how it goes.
Fourteen players who represented England in the 2017 and 2019 tournaments have since played full internationals, including Mason Mount, who has played in England’s last seven matches, and Phil Foden.
Boothroyd said he hoped to have Mount in the tournament with Jude Bellingham, who is also in Southgate’s full squad.
Can you imagine the manager of the reserve team going to the manager of the first team and asking his best player to win the reserve team championship? Boothroyd asked. It wasn’t going to happen.
The only team that should win is the senior team. The most important thing is the senior team, everyone is there to support the senior team.
Speaking at the press conference ahead of the 2022 World Cup qualifier against Poland, Southgate said it was difficult to find the balance between the teams.
No one is thinking of the U21s from outside until they reach the final, Southgate added.
I think that’s always a good question – we want to try and win tournaments if we can. We won when the U17s and U20s won.
Boothroyd, who led England to success at Toulon 2018, was manager of Watford, Colchester, Coventry and Northampton before taking the helm at Southgate in 2016.
When asked if Wednesday’s game was the most important of his career, Boothroyd said: I think it’s… It’s about keeping a cool head at the moment.
England, who have had just one shot on goal in two games so far, must beat Croatia by two clear goals, while Portugal must beat Switzerland to reach the quarter-finals.
They will have to do without Callum Hudson-Odoi, who has returned to Chelsea with an injury, while Arsenal midfielder Emile Smith Rowe is doubtful.
