England job should go to ‘the best candidate’, says Lee Carsley

Interim manager Lee Carsley says the England job should not be restricted to somebody English as links to Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola persist.

The Football Association turned to the England Under-21s coach for autumn’s Nations League fixtures as they bought themselves time to find Gareth Southgate’s successor after losing a second successive European Championship final.

Figures from the governing body have kept cards close to their chest about the managerial hunt and The Times has reported that all-conquering City boss Guardiola has been sounded out about the job.

The ex-Spain international’s deal with the perennial Premier League champions expires at the end of the season and he seemingly left the door open to the possibility of coaching England in a recent interview.

Thomas Tuchel is another favourite with the bookmakers for a job that Birmingham-born former Republic of Ireland international Carsley says deserves a world-class coach that has won trophies.

Asked if whoever eventually gets the England job has to be English, the interim boss said: “No, definitely not. I think it’s important that the best candidate gets the job.

“We’ve seen in the past that we’ve had different nationalities coach the team. The best candidate should get the job.

“I think we’d be putting ourselves in a corner if we didn’t, and we didn’t open our minds a bit.

“I think it’s important that any job that’s available, you know, everyone that’s at that level should apply for it.”

It felt like a rare clear response around the position from Carsley, who has squirmed when pushed for clarity on his England ambitions during his two camps in charge.

That struggle for a straight answer continued after England bounced back from Thursday’s 2-1 embarrassing loss to Greece with a 3-1 Nations League win in Finland, where he was pushed on the FA’s process and his place within it.

“When I was interim manager at other clubs I was asked what my opinion would be, what kind of manager would be suitable for the role,” Carsley said.

“Obviously this is a far bigger profile, so it’s not something that I’m involved with.”

Put to him that he does not want to be consulted, he said: “Oh, definitely not. No, definitely not.

“I think it’s important that I’ve got enough, as you can probably imagine, to concentrate on without worrying then about the process.”

Asked if he wants to be considered for the permanent England position, Carsley said: “Do I want to be considered for the job? Well, I’m doing the job so I would imagine that I am being considered.”

Carsley says “whatever I’m asked to do, I’ll do” by FA technical director John McDermott moving forwards, expressing appreciation at being somewhere he is “rated” and accepted for being “different”.

However, the 50-year-old sidestepped talk about his candidacy and interest in the role, saying he may be “boring you with my answers” but it was due to drive to fill the role without regrets, having previously had unfulfilling caretaker experiences.

That is not to say he has found life as interim England manager straightforward, saying “nothing ever changes if I stay in my comfort zone and I’m really aware of that”.

But for all the uncertainty there is no doubting Carsley has enjoyed working with England’s young, talented squad, with the only real unpleasant experience being the loss to Group B2 leaders Greece that leaves them needing a win in Athens next time out.

“What’s the hardest bit (been)? Apart from this bit (speaking to the media)?” he said with a laugh.

“The hardest bit would probably have been the last two days because I’m not used to losing with the 21s.

“I wouldn’t say we’re fortunate, but we win a lot of games, so every time I go on camp I generally win two games and go home.

“So, to lose a game at Wembley in front of a full house was something I really took personally.”