Lee Carsley Confirms He Has Not Applied For Permanent England Job

England interim manager, Lee Carsley, revealed on Saturday that he has not applied to take the job permanently.

Carsley assumed the role of interim manager after Gareth Southgate resigned following the defeat to Spain in the Euro 2024 final, moving up from his position as England Under-21 coach.

The 50-year-old had emerged as a front-runner for the post after leading England to victories over Ireland and Finland in his first two games in September.

However, Carsley faced criticism after his tactical experiment failed during Thursday’s disappointing 2-1 defeat to Greece at Wembley.

Immediately after that Nations League tie, Carsley said he will “hopefully” be returning to the under-21s once England has played their next three matches, starting with Sunday’s rematch with Finland.

He then appeared to backtrack, suggesting he wasn’t ruling himself in or out of contention.

Asked ahead of the Finland game if he had applied for the job, Carsley told talkSPORT, “No, I didn’t formally apply for it.”

The FA posted an advert for the England men’s senior team head coach job on its website shortly after Southgate departed.

The deadline for applications was August 2nd, and Carsley was appointed as interim manager on August 9th.

Pushed on why he had not applied, Carsley said, “I have been doing the under-21s and I am really happy with my job.

“I am an employee of the FA and I was asked to take the senior team, which is a privilege. It was the proudest moment of my career.

“I am honored with the chance to manage the senior team.

“I am in a fortunate position in that I am on the inside and I can see how much potential this team’s got. It is one of the best jobs in world football.

“There aren’t many jobs where you’ve got a chance of winning. I believe the coach that comes in has got a really good chance of winning and we deserve the best one that’s out there.”

England has arrived in Helsinki needing a win to get back on track in their bid to catch Group B2 leaders Greece.

Former Everton midfielder Carsley isn’t worried about his future and is instead concentrating on preparing his team.

“I don’t see this as an audition at all,” Carsley said. “I see it as simple as I was asked to take the team for three camps.

“It wasn’t with a view to anything; it was do your best, try as hard as you can, and look after the players, and that is what I am doing.”