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Chelsea's Gary Cahill backs England interim boss Gareth Southgate

Gary Cahill has praised interim manager Gareth Southgate for keeping a cool head in trying times for England.

Southgate was planning to lead the under-21s in a low-key double header against Kazakhstan and Bosnia-Herzegovina when Sam Allardyce was dramatically removed from office after a newspaper sting.

In the whirlwind fortnight that followed, Southgate accepted the job on a temporary basis, oversaw a 2-0 Wembley win over Malta and, on Tuesday, scraped a goalless draw in Slovenia having dropped captain Wayne Rooney.

At all stages the former Middlesbrough boss has attempted to put a calm and rational face on things but Cahill accepts that cannot have been easy.