Lee Carsley has revealed he has not formally applied to become permanent England manager but wanted “no regrets” during his time as interim boss.
The Football Association turned to the 50-year-old for the autumn’s Nations League fixtures after Gareth Southgate called time on his reign following July’s Euro 2024 final defeat to Spain.
Carsley has frequently sidestepped questions about whether he wants to become England boss on a full-time basis, including saying he will “hopefully” be returning to his role with the U21s.
The former midfielder swerved follow-up questions about whether he wants the senior job after Thursday’s 2-1 defeat to Greece and was probed further before Sunday’s clash in Finland.
Asked if he had applied for the job, Carsley told talkSPORT: “No, I didn’t formally apply for it.”
Pushed on why he had not applied, Carsley said: “Because hopefully…I have been doing the U21s and I am really happy with my job.
“I am an employee of the FA and I was asked to take the senior team, which is a privilege. It was the proudest moment of my career.
“I am in a really fortunate position in that I am on the inside and I can see how much potential this team’s got. It is one of the best jobs in world football.
“There aren’t many jobs where you’ve got a chance of winning. I believe the coach that comes in has got a really good chance of winning and we deserve the best one that’s out there.”
Is Carsley capable of taking the job?
The chastening 2-1 loss to Greece had led to question marks as to whether interim England manager Carsley is capable of taking the job on full-time.
Carsley rang the changes for the Greece match, fielding a side with plenty of attacking midfielders, but without a recognised number nine.
The result was an unbalanced side, one that Greece cut through easily, deservedly beating England at Wembley to secure a historic result for the visitors.
Speaking ahead of Sunday’s Nations League clash with Finland, Carsley appeared to play down his chances of becoming the next permanent England boss, saying he wanted to give his interim spell in charge his “best shot”.
“I think the reaction (to the loss against Greece) is fair enough. You have to respect people’s opinions. We didn’t perform as well as we can on the night, and I would expect a reaction [Sunday] night (against Finland),” Carsley said.
“I think it’s something that I’ll look back on in maybe two or three months and, you know, be better for it.
“I wanted to give this job my best shot for the three camps that we spoke about. I didn’t want to have any regrets.
“It’s important we do try something different at times. I think I’ll be a better coach for that.”
Analysis: Carsley accepting scrutiny of position
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Sky Sports’ Tim Thornton reacts to a report that interim head coach Lee Carsley ‘doesn’t want full-time England job’.
Analysis from Sky Sports News senior reporter Tim Thornton following a report that members of the England setup are convinced Lee Carsley does not want to succeed Gareth Southgate on a full-time basis:
“Let’s not forget this is a confidential process, finding a successor to Gareth Souhtgate.
“The FA stance throughout this process is that they don’t comment, it’s a confidential process – and we’re not expecting that stance to change.
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Sky Sports’ Tim Thornton and Ron Walker reflect on England’s 2-1 defeat to Greece and what it might mean for Lee Carsley’s future in the role.
“There has been a lot of scrutiny on Lee Carsley over the course of the last few days.
“There’s been scrutiny on his team selection on his tactics, on his press conferences as well – and on Saturday he said fair enough, I accept the scrutiny, it’s part of the job. And he accepted that some of it was fair.”
Carsley said he will adopt a more convetional approach against Finland, and the return to a more standard system likely means skipper Harry Kane will lead the line a month on from marking his 100th cap with both goals in a 2-0 Wembley win against Finland.
Jack Grealish is also available after joining the England skipper in sitting out the Greece defeat with a knock of his own, but Bukayo Saka and Curtis Jones left the camp ahead of the trip to Finland.
“We trained yesterday as well, so Harry and Jack both got through the session,” Carsley said.
“We’re in a good position. I think it’s important that we freshen the team up a little bit, but, yeah, we feel confident we’re in a good place.”
A sell-out crowd awaits at the Olympiastadion as England make their first visit to Finland since interim manager Howard Wilkinson oversaw a 0-0 draw in Helsinki 24 years ago.
What’s next?
England’s Nations League campaign continues against Finland on Sunday, October 13; kick off 5pm.