Angry England fans were seen throwing empty cups at Gareth Southgate following the Three Lions’ barren draw with Slovenia at the Euros.

England topped their group but did it by limping to a 0-0 draw with Slovenia on Tuesday night. When the full-time whistle blew, some supporters booed the Three Lions and as Southgate went over to applaud them, a small number threw empty cups at him at RheinEnergieStadion in Cologne.

Gareth Southgate talked about being in “an unusual environment” after having plastic beer cups thrown at him by England fans and hearing his team booed off after their 0-0 draw with Slovenia on Tuesday night.

Although a point was enough for England to go through to last 16 as winners of Group C, the reaction in the stands at the Cologne Stadium was hardly complimentary after another ineffective attacking ­display against opponents ranked 57th in the world.

Much of the anger was aimed at Southgate when he went to acknowledge supporters after the final whistle. The 53-year-old was met with prolonged boos and he admitted he was aware of three beer cups being hurled in his direction, landing just short of him.

“I understand it,” Southgate said. “I’m not going to back away from it. The most important thing is we stay with the team. I understand the narrative towards me. That’s better for the team than it being towards them but it is creating an unusual ­environment to operate in. I’ve not seen any other team qualify and receive similar.”

Southgate, who was applauded by some supporters, also described the environment as “strange” and “difficult”. Asked to elaborate on why the mood was different from previous tournaments, he pointed to England having to deal with greater expectation. “We’ve made England fun again and it’s been very, very enjoyable for the players,” he said. “We’ve got to be careful it stays that way.”