Lee Carsley said there were times he wondered if he was out of his depth as England’s interim manager, but the team’s 2-0 win over Ireland in Dublin on Saturday in his first game in charge has quieted that doubt.
Carsley, who represented Ireland 40 times, having qualified to play for the country through his grandmother, has been installed as caretaker while England searches for a permanent successor to Gareth Southgate.
The win over Ireland not only gave England the ideal start to its Nations League campaign but may also have boosted Carsley’s chances of filling the role permanently, and he will be at the helm on Tuesday against Finland at Wembley.
“You always think it’s easy to be the England manager when you’re sat in the house but there have been times where I’ve thought I’m not sure I could do it,” Carsley said.
“But it (the Dublin win) has done my confidence good and the rest of the staff, as well — that, actually, we’re OK, we’ll be all right.
“I spoke about it at the first press conference, (being) a safe pair of hands. I feel like we’re in a good position with the players,” added Carsley, who had been managing England’s Under 21s since 2021 and led them to the European title last year.
Looking ahead to the journey toward the 2026 World Cup, Carsley said England had to show more control.
“The end goal is doing that against the top teams in the world in the biggest moments,” he added. “They have got two years to get to that point. We have gone a good way to doing that.”