Gareth Southgate says he will need to feel the backing of supporters to carry on as England manager beyond the 2022 World Cup.

The 50-year-old's current deal expires next year but Football Association chief executive Mark Bullingham confirmed last week that he will be offered a new contract regardless of England's performance at Euro 2020.

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The Three Lions face Germany in Tuesday's last-16 clash at Wembley as they aim to win a knockout match at a Euros for only the second time in their history.

Southgate has previously indicated he would one day like to return to club management and when asked about Bullingham's comments, he replied: "Any manager is going to be grateful for the total backing of the board. From my perspective, that's a private conversation that I've had that support.

"But in the end, internal backing is important but in this role in particular, external backing is just as important and I always think to discuss contracts around tournaments in the past, hasn't been the right thing.

"We were certain we weren't going to do that before this tournament -- we should see how this goes -- so all my focus is on the game and getting this team as far as we possibly can."

Captain Harry Kane will lead England's attack five years after being involved as England were shocked at the same stage during Euro 2016 by Iceland. Only six members of that squad are involved this time around but Kane believes the group will improve for their chastening experience.

"There are only a few of us who were involved in that tournament, in that game especially," said Kane. "Sometimes games like that give you more motivation to go and be successful in the future. You can learn from experiences like that. I did, for sure. The players involved did for sure. It is a totally different circumstance. We are playing a massive team in Germany but it is just one to look forward to."

England face Germany in a tournament knockout for the sixth time since winning the 1966 World Cup Final, having failed to win any of their subsequent meetings. But Southgate said: "In previous eras we have always talked about the past, teams and their records, baggage and everything else. There's no reason for these boys to feel that way. Most weren't born when a lot of those games happened. It is an irrelevance for them."

Sources have told ESPN that England are considering switching to a three-man defence for the game with Southgate claiming he will make a late decision on whether to include Mason Mount and Ben Chilwell following their period of self-isolation as a close contact of Billy Gilmour, who tested positive for COVID-19 after Scotland drew with England.

The pair have had to train separately from their teammates all week and travelled from St George's Park to London on Monday away from the group.

"Clearly, it is really complicated because there's the physical periodisation you would want for a game like this and then there's the tactical training," added Southgate.

"The meetings we've had, they've had to be in a separate room and dial in on Zoom so the whole experience for them including travelling down tonight is very, very difficult. But they are young players who I think can get on with things pretty well. It is a decision I've got to take when we're looking at how they've been able to train and everything else. There's a lot wrapped up in that call.

"[With a week between games], it was important for a couple of days for the players to relax and have a lower physical output. It would have been a very long lead-in otherwise.

"Now, we've been able to get a lot of work done in on the training ground, some tactical work which is important for this game in particular, so that's an unusual opportunity for us. It is probably the longest period we've had in 12 months to work with the team."