Lee Carsley ‘definitely not’ ruling himself out of England job amid confusion

Lee Carsley dismissed suggestions he effectively ruled himself out of the permanent England post by saying he is still on the path to becoming the world-class coach the job needs.

Gareth Southgate’s temporary successor bounced back from Thursday’s embarrassing 2-1 home defeat to Greece with a 3-1 win away to Finland in the Nations League on Sunday.

England were not wholly convincing in Helsinki, where interim boss Carsley would produce some more confusing answers about his interest in taking on the role permanently.

"This job deserves a World class coach who's won trophies...and I'm still on the path to doing that"

Has Lee Carsley effectively ruled himself out of the England running? ❌#ITVFootball | @gabrielclarke05 pic.twitter.com/QQz1JHzGNo

— ITV Football (@itvfootball) October 13, 2024

On Thursday the 50-year-old said he will “hopefully” be returning to his role with the Under-21s after November’s fixtures, then on Saturday he confirmed that he had not formally applied to replace Southgate.

If that was not enough, Carsley told ITV after beating Finland that “this job deserves a world-class coach that has won trophies and been there and done it – and I’m still on the path to doing that”.

Carsley was peppered with questions seeking clarification on his stance in the post-match press conference, including whether he felt it was too soon for him to become senior team boss.

“Definitely not,” Carsley said. “I tried to make it as clear as I could. My remit was for three camps.

“The point I was trying to make is it is one of the top jobs in the world.

“I’m not part of the process but it deserves a top coach. The players we have available, we’ve got a real chance of winning. That was the point I was making.”

Many took Carsley’s