Lee Carsley: “Derby will always have a special place for myself” ahead of Pride Park clash | OneFootball

England U21s face Andorra U21s on Monday evening at Pride Park Stadium, with it the first game back on home soil for the team since being crowned European champions in the summer. England currently sit third in the group for qualification for the 2027 European Championships, with the potential to leapfrog to first with a win on Monday night.

Lee Carsley started his career at Derby County, being picked up at the age of 15 by the club. Carsley went on to make 138 league appearances for the Rams, experiencing Premier League football with the club before moving to Blackburn Rovers in 1999. Carsley was asked about his thoughts on returning to Pride Park and what it meant to him.

“I think Derby will always have a special place for myself and my family because that’s obviously where we started,” he said. “I’ve been back there (Pride Park) with Brentford and also Birmingham as caretaker manager.

“I loved my time Derby and it’s a club that’s close to my heart,” he added.

England were victorious over Moldova on Friday evening, and one player in particular that stood out was Arsenal’s Ethan Nwaneri, getting two assists to his name in the 4-0 win. Carsley spoke about how impressed he has been with the 18-year-old and the progression that he has made.

“He’s a player that I obviously know a lot about. I’ve worked with now for a good couple of years. He was with us in the summer, he’s one along with two or three others that are European champions. He’s definitely grown into the responsibility that he’s got within the squad in terms of the example that he sets both on and off the pitch. He’s a player that we rate highly,” Carsley said.

He was asked about how games against lower ranked opposition can help with increasing confidence within the squad and for the players, while also remaining with the same mentality for every game, being able to respect the opposition yet also being able to impose yourself.

“It’s constantly us versus us, in terms of England versus England, the way that we approach every single game, that’s whether we play against Spain, Germany, Portugal, whoever,” he said. “It’s always that mentality that you have to play that game in your mind, you have to prepare properly, you have to be fully respectful of the opposition and then you have to impose yourself on the opposition. So mentality, to play for England, to get into the senior team, it’s important that you get used to that competing and that mentality to want to do things right.”

England U21s will face Andorra at Pride Park Stadium on Monday 13th October at 7:45pm BST.