Thomas Tuchel refuses to apologise for angering England fans and does not regret it

Thomas Tuchel says he has no regrets following his criticism of the Wembley crowd's support. The Three Lions manager slammed England supporters for being too silent during last month's friendly victory over Wales. England fans responded to Tuchel's remarks by chanting "we'll sing when we want" and trolling the German with a few other choice chants during their win away at Latvia.

Tuchel will confront the Wembley audience for the first time since those observations when England meet Serbia again on Thursday evening, but the former Chelsea manager emphasises his complete respect for supporters whilst refusing to simply follow the crowd. With England having already secured World Cup qualification, Thursday's fixture has become meaningless, so Tuchel acknowledges it falls to his team to provide entertainment for the spectators.

He said: "Of course I want the atmosphere to be like Boca vs River Plate but we will not have the same tension in the dressing room before the match. It's not the World Cup.

"It's not the semi-final or the first group match and the crowd knows it as well. We accept it will be different and try, still, to get the spark and inspire them and present ourselves that it's a nice watch.

"Do I regret saying it? No. It was a genuine reaction. If you only go in life and you only say what people want to hear then you become a fish - I am not a fish. Some people didn't like it? Ok. Sometimes I don't like what people say about me and it's just what it is."

Tuchel stirred the pot with his remarks following the 3-0 triumph over Wales on October 9. The Three Lions quickly established a three-goal advantage within the first 20 minutes at Wembley but Tuchel felt the atmosphere was underwhelming.

In a post-match interview with ITV Sport, he stated: "We had one and a half training days to prepare against a well-trained team and we did very well. We could have been 5-0 up at half-time. We couldn't score the fourth and fifth ones.

"The stadium was silent. We didn't get any energy back from the stands. We did everything to win." When questioned if he anticipated more from the supporters, Tuchel responded: "Yes. What more can you give in 20 minutes?

"We didn't let them escape. If you hear just Wales fans for half an hour, it's sad because the team deserved more support today. "

He added in his post-match press conference: "I loved the support in Serbia and I am sure we will have top support in Latvia and of course once we arrive at the World Cup it will be outstanding.

"They should not under-estimate how much it helps sometimes if the game goes a bit flat. Like if they keep the thing going again it could help us and then we would have maybe scored and regained energy. It is give and take."