Interim boss Lee Carsley hints he would consider applying for England job as Thomas Tuchel replacement

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Evening Standard

·16 novembre 2024

Interim boss Lee Carsley hints he would consider applying for England job as Thomas Tuchel replacement

Carsley believes the interim coaching staff have proved “we can do it”

Lee Carsley has opened the door to the possibility of applying for the England manager’s position after Thomas Tuchel has left.

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Sunday’s Nations League match against the Republic of Ireland is Carsley’s last of six matches as England’s interim manager. On January 1, former Chelsea and Bayern Munich manager Tuchel replaces Carsley to become Gareth Southgate’s permanent successor.

Carsley will return to his post as England’s Under-21s manager upon departing his interim role.

Tuchel’s contract runs until after the 2026 World Cup. Carsley was asked whether he would consider throwing his hat in the ring next time the permanent position is available.

“What we have shown as a staff is that we can do it,” he said. “I think it is really beneficial to the FA that we are in the building if needs be. In 18 months, who knows? I’m really looking forward to winning the game and hopefully retaining the title in the summer with the U21s.”

Carsley said of his plans for after the international break: “We will debrief with all of the staff, and then we will do a debrief on the football to the coaching staff on the three camps.

“Then the plan will be I will feed it back into Thomas [Tuchel] and [FA technical director] John McDermott.”

The 50-year-old added: “I am not sure I will give him [Tuchel] a lot of advice. He is in a better position than I am in terms of the experience he has had [in management] and the staff he has. It will probably be more the players, the personalities and the stuff you won’t see on the TV.”

Lee Carsley is relishing his return to lead the England Under-21 side

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“It’s just a shame that Harvey Elliott won’t be ready and Jacob Ramsey - they would have been involved [this month],” Carsley revealed. Liverpool’s Elliott and Aston Villa midfielder Ramsey, who both played for the U21s under Carsley, are currently nursing injuries.

Carsley was asked whether he will be relieved to be freed of such regular media scrutiny when he exits the role of interim manager.

He responded: “Relieved? I don’t know, I’m not sure. I have become used to that bit of it now. I definitely didn’t underestimate it.

“Any praise that I got has been deserved. Any negative comments were also deserved, especially after the Greece game [home]. Hopefully I leave the squad in a strong place and Thomas will have a lot more players available to him.

“I have tried to be courageous with some of the selections, to be a little bit different with the way we play.

“We tried something against Greece [in last month’s 2-1 defeat] and it didn’t quite come off, but it’s something that we’ve tried now and something that Thomas potentially doesn’t have to go through. He could probably coach it better and it look better and be more fluent.”