Wayne Rooney believes England risk âstarting from scratchâ if they do not persevere with playing out from defence.
Gareth Southgateâs side saw their Nations League ambitions ended by the Netherlands at the semi-final stage on Thursday after being punished for risky play at the back from John Stones and Ross Barkley.
Despite the 3-1 extra-time loss in Portugal, former England captain Rooney has urged Southgate not to ditch his current tactics.
âI think thatâs where England have got a lot better, playing out from the back and having more possession of the ball than we have had in recent times,â the 33-year-old told BBC Radio Five Liveâs Sportsweek programme ahead of their 6-5 penalty shootout victory against Switzerland in the Nations League third-place play-off on Sunday.
âIâd encourage them to keep playing.
âMistakes were made and we lost the game but Iâm sure those mistakes wonât happen again. And if they do and thatâs the way the manager wants to play then Iâm sure the manager will take responsibility and encourage them to keep doing it.
Rooney ended his international career as Englandâs top scorer with 53 goals.
âYou canât have a manager saying we want to play out from the back but then you make a mistake and he slaughters you for it. Players canât go 90 minutes, week in, week out, without making mistakes.
âIf I was in Garethâs position, I would keep encouraging them to keep doing what they are doing and keep progressing because if you throw the blueprint out of the window now then youâre almost starting from scratch again.â
The 3-1 loss to Ronald Koemanâs side in Guimaraes pitted England against Switzerland.
Southgate has guided the team to the last four in successive tournaments following last summerâs memorable run to the semi-finals of the World Cup in Russia.
Former Manchester United and Everton player Rooney, who scored a record 53 goals in 120 appearances for his country, thinks England are on course to be one of the favourites to win Euro 2020.
âWith England the future is bright,â continued Rooney, who currently plays for MLS club DC United.
âI said after Euro 2016, weâve got some fantastic quality and I didnât expect them to get to the semi-final in the next World Cup but that will certainly give them a boost going into the next tournament.
âI think keep progressing the way they are then theyâll be one of the favourites for the next tournament.
âI think over the last 12 months, theyâve made huge strides in terms of getting to the semi-final, and obviously everyone was disappointed not to go through but the team has got a lot of young players in it.
âI think the defeat against Holland will help them in the long run.â