JOEY BARTON BELIEVES that the players and coaches are not to blame for England’s failures at international tournaments following the nation’s group-stage exit from the Under-21s European Championships.

Gareth Southgate’s England side were eliminated following a 3-1 defeat by Italy on Wednesday. The loss meant they finished bottom of the group in the Czech Republic, sparking renewed criticism of the state of English football.

But Barton, a free agent after being released by QPR, says that England will continue to under-perform at tournaments as a result of cultural problem.

“Everybody wants to blame it on something and it’s not a case of that,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live. “It’s not the players, it’s not the coaching staff, it’s not one thing, it’s an accumulation of many things.

The culture within English football is not changing – no St George’s Park, no massive spend, no change of coach, this isn’t going to change it. The culture is rotten from top to bottom. England’s national team will under-perform at every single tournament because of this reason and that filters down.”

Raheem Sterling, Jack Wilshere, Ross Barkley, Phil Jones and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain were all eligible for the championships but not called up.

Barton added: “The FA should say to them: ‘If you don’t make yourself eligible for an Under-21s campaign if you’re selected, you won’t be considered by the national team for however many years.’

“We need to get in line, we need to get a passion restored in the badge of representing your country at any level.”

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