‘England deserve a world-class coach’, but Carsley is not ruling himself out

Lee Carsley said England deserve “a world-class coach” as their next manager and admitted he is “still on the way there”.

But the interim boss insisted it was “absolutely” wrong to say he has ruled himself out of the permanent job and that he still has an “open mind”.

Carsley took interim charge of the England senior team after Gareth Southgate resigned in July, two days after England’s final defeat to Spain at the 2024 European Championship.

The 50-year-old took on the role before England’s Nations League matches “with the intention of remaining in this position throughout the autumn” as the Football Association continued its recruitment process for a new head coach.

Carsley has not confirmed he will be considered for the permanent job, but after Thursday’s loss to Greece at Wembley he said he would “hopefully go back to the U21s” – where he was head coach before rising to take on the senior team .

After England’s 3-1 win over Finland, Carsley again distanced himself from suggestions he hopes to remain in the first team permanently.

“I keep saying the same thing. My job was six games and I’m happy with that,” he said.

“This is a privileged position. I really enjoy it, but I haven’t enjoyed the last two days. I’m not used to losing in an English team, I don’t handle losing well.”

“People are always trying to put their chips aside. I’m in the middle. My bosses have made it clear what they need from me.

“This job deserves a world-class coach who has won awards and I’m still on my way to that.”

Carsley was then asked about those comments during his post-match press conference and whether they meant he was no longer eligible for the full-time job.

“Absolutely not,” he said.

“The point I was trying to make is that it is one of the top jobs in the world. I am not part of the process but it deserves a top coach. With the players we have available we have a real chance.” win. That was the point I was making.

“It was the fact that this is a world-class course. This will be one of the best courses in football.

“Whoever gets it will be at a high level. It is a privilege to do this work and I feel very confident.

“That’s why it was so hard the other day to lose the match and suffer a defeat. The reactions were good.”

Carsley said he speaks every day to the FA technical director John McDermott – one of the people responsible for the recruitment process for the manager’s job – but is not asking for updates on the process to find a replacement for Southgate to find.

Carsley has previously been caretaker manager at Brentford, Birmingham City and Coventry, and says the experience of those roles is why he won’t say publicly whether he wants the England job.

“I’m definitely reluctant because in the past when I’ve been in this role as a caretaker or interim, I’ve gone so far as to say, ‘I don’t want the job,’ I haven’t actually gotten the job done,” he said.

“It was one of the things I talked about when I was asked to take charge temporarily. It’s important that I keep an open mind because then I’m not reckless with my decisions.

“I think carefully about how the team should play and which team I should choose. That is a challenge.”

‘There needs to be more clarity’ – what the experts say

BBC Radio 5 Live commentator John Murray: “When Carsley was asked at his post-match media conference whether (the question of whether) he has ruled himself out of the job on a permanent basis is the wrong assessment, he replied: ‘Yes, definitely.’

“So there is confusion. But maybe only on the outside. Within the FA it smacks of keeping all options open. It is possible that Carsley’s England can win their last two group games in good style next month and finish first in the group and can be promoted to the top again.” highest level of the Nations League.

“It is also possible that the best trophy-winning coach that Carsley referred to is not available now or will not be available until a later date. Hence we are keeping all options open. And so the guessing game on the outside will probably continue to the next match. ” month.”

Former England striker Chris Sutton told BBC Radio 5 Live: “It’s almost 100 days since Gareth Southgate stepped down as England manager. Is this a situation where there needs to be more clarity about what will happen next?

Are they going to wait until the next international breakthrough or should they be more forthright and have a plan in place? Appoint a manager so that someone can actually come and work with the players and look ahead to the World Cup?

We’ve seen the Lee Carsley experiment and it’s fine, but things seem to be up in the air at the moment. Is Lee Carsley the man to take England to the World Cup? That’s the question.

Former England and Arsenal striker Ian Wright told ITV: “I heard him talking about the Under-21s and if you’re in charge of it but you don’t have the passion to say he wants it then it’s probably not for him.”

Ex-Manchester United and Irish midfielder Roy Keane told ITV: “The most important thing is finding the right man for England. The FA should go for the best man. Pep’s contract expires this summer.”