Lee Carsley talks about his future as England head coach after the surprising loss against Greece at Wembley .
Lee Carsley suddenly seems to be on the firing line in a job that was his to lose just a few weeks ago.
The fifty-year-old took over as interim manager of the under-21 team until November. He was to oversee all six of the senior team’s Nations League group matches. In September, the team defeated Finland at Wembley and the Republic of Ireland in Dublin. On Thursday, they suffered a chaotic home loss to Greece.
Despite persistent questions about his intentions to take over as Gareth Southgate’s full-time successor and guide his country into the 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign, he has made an effort to concentrate only on the six games.
The English Football Association are still looking for a new manager. They are adopting secrecy in the process, and have not yet disclosed the progress.
Carsley has caused himself some embarrassment over his career, most notably following the Greece loss when he declared that, following the conclusion of his interim term, he would “hopefully be going back to the under-21s.” During the Saturday night pre-game news conference in Helsinki, Carsley was questioned about the comment.
“Hopefully is a word and a phrase I use quite a bit,” he said. “There’s obviously no guarantees in life, including tomorrow [against Finland]. It’s a job, the under-21s, that I’m really proud of and massively invested in. But I know there’s no guarantees. The plan is to give this job, for three camps, the best I can do. Along with the rest of the staff and hopefully we can be in a good position.”
After the victories in September, belief was that Carsley is the one to get the permanent position. However, in his interview with the media, he sounded just like the development coach that he has always been.
“The last thing that is important to me in this whole process is me,” Carsley said. “The reason I believe I have done so well in coaching is because people know that it’s not about me. It’s about the players, the environment, the culture. If I do try something different, they can see I’m trying it to get the best out of the team or the individual.
“I don’t see this as an audition or the biggest chance I have ever had. We see it as a privilege, an unbelievable responsibility. I have three games left. I want to make sure that the squad is in a really good position. That we have seen different players play in different positions.”