Lee Carsley all but rules himself out of England job as interim manager tells FA to hire ‘world class coach’
ENGLAND caretaker boss Lee Carsley has appeared to talk himself out of being considered for the job on a full-time basis.
Carsley, 50, has instead urged the FA to hire a “world class” manager as Gareth Southgate‘s permanent replacement.
The Three Lions bounced back from their disappointing 2-1 home defeat to Greece on Thursday by winning 3-1 against Finland in Helsinki this evening.
Despite returning to winning ways, Carsley distanced himself from contending for the job full-time.
He told ITV: “People are always going to try to put their chips to one side, I’m totally in the middle.
“My bosses have made it totally clear what they need from me.
“This job deserves a world class coach that’s won trophies and been and done it.
“And I’m still on the path to doing that.”
England took an 18th minute lead via Jack Grealish, who celebrated recently becoming a father.
Trent Alexander-Arnold doubled the Three Lions’ advantage on 74 minutes, before Declan Rice made the three points safe late on.
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Arttu Hoskonen grabbed a consolation for the hosts, but it wasn’t enough to trouble England.
According to reports in Germany, Thomas Tuchel is in negotiations with the FA to become the new England manager.
German outlet Bild claim that Tuchel could return to management with the Three Lions, having left Bayern Munich at the end of last season.
The former Chelsea boss won the Champions League during his stint in West London.
During his career he has also won domestic trophies and titles in France and Germany, as well as the Club World Cup.
He would become the third non-Englishman to coach the Three Lions, following Fabio Capello and the late Sven-Goran Eriksson, and the first German to hold the position.
Carsley, meanwhile, could return to his position with England’s Under-21s, with whom he won last year’s Under-21 Euros.
On tonight’s performance, he added: “I thought we were looking for a reaction.
“This is only four games into it, and I’ve still not properly worked out how this team responds to setbacks. They’ve shown they’ve responded really well.
“We played with a lot more control. We created a lot of chances, but I think we can still be better.”
Carsley could remain in caretaker charge next month, when England play Greece in Athens and the Republic of Ireland at Wembley.