FORMER Saints skipper Adam Lallana hopes Gareth Southgate does enough over the coming week to get the England job on a permanent basis.

The Under-21s manager was parachuted into the hotseat six weeks ago after a newspaper sting saw Sam Allardyce's reign come to an ignominious end after just 67 days.

Lallana's late strike secured a 1-0 win over Slovakia in Allardyce's only match at the helm and the in-form Liverpool attacking midfielder returns to the fold preparing to play under a third England manager of 2016.

Tomorrow's World Cup qualifier against Scotland and the friendly versus Spain are the only matches remaining of Southgate's interim reign and Lallana hopes the Football Association swiftly resolve the managerial situation.

"You need stability," Lallana said. "What you don't have at England is the time that you get at club level.

"You can't prepare for a campaign as you would for a league over the course of the season. It's not possible so it's a different challenge.

"I'm sure Gareth will want to have that and we are ready to fight for him in the matches. Hopefully he will do well enough to get the job on a permanent basis."

Lallana repeated the desire to fight for Southgate over the next week - an attitude synonymous with English players, but at times lacking when the team come together as a group.

Two years ago Southgate was one of those that helped launch the 'England DNA' philosophy aimed at creating winning national teams, although that has yet to translate to the men's senior team.

Asked if England are struggling for identity, Lallana said: "Possibly.

"It would be nice for Gareth and for us quite soon to know whether he's going to get the job on a permanent basis, so you can build towards having a certain identity that your manager wants you to have.

"That's what a manager is there for. I'm sure over the next few days the manager will be telling us what he wants for the Scotland and Spain games.

"Eventually it would be nice for him in the longer term to put a structure in place.

"For quite a few years now we've not done brilliantly at major tournaments so it's up to us to maybe find an identity.

"Whether it's the mental side of the game at tournaments that we're struggling to cope with, we need to overcome that. By good, hard work I think we can do that."

Lallana has been an integral part of Jurgen Klopp's system at Liverpool since the German's arrival a year ago, but the tweak to a more central position has seen him become more effective.

The 28-year-old has scored three and assisted five in 11 Premier League appearances this term, so it is little wonder he speaks with a confidence and conviction that only bodes well for England.

"Confidence is a thing that you can't just switch on and off," Lallana added.

"When you have confidence, it's important to take advantage and use it as much as you can.

"I have that confidence just now and I want to take it on to the international stage."