London Oct 12: After England played a goalless draw against Slovenia in a FIFA World Cup 2018 qualifying match, interim manager Gareth Southgate said he had inherited a team in shambles.

Southgate succeeded Sam Allardyce last month, initially for four games, and led England to a home win over 176th ranked Malta before Tuesday's draw in Ljubljana. [FIFA World Cup 2018 qualifiers: Europe]

Allardyce, 61, left his post after one game following a Daily Telegraph investigation claiming he offered advice on how to "get around" rules on player transfers.

That followed England's disastrous Euro 2016 campaign, which saw Roy Hodgson resign after an embarrassing last-16 defeat by minnows Iceland.

"With the overall objective of qualifying, we have kept the team on track," Southgate was quoted as saying by BBC on Tuesday.

"But we have taken over a mess really and had to steady the ship," he added.

Southgate, 46, was elevated from his role as England Under-21 manager to take temporary control of the senior team following Allardyce's departure.

His next game is a World Cup qualifier against Scotland at Wembley on November 11, followed by a friendly with Spain.

IANS