Lee Carsley: England coach expects return to U21s but refuses to rule himself out as Gareth Southgate's successor | Football News

Lee Carsley is refusing to rule himself out as Gareth Southgate's permanent successor but has admitted he expects a return to the England Under-21 team.

Carsley suffered his first defeat as caretaker coach at Wembley on Thursday evening as Vangelis Pavlidis' brace gave Greece their first win over England.

The 50-year-old had previously won his first two games and was considered the permanent England manager, but is now reluctant to comment on his chances of winning the position.

“I said at the beginning that I wouldn’t be in or out, and that’s still the case,” he said. “I feel more than comfortable in the position I am in. The brief was clear, I feel comfortable with it and am confident.”

“After the first camp I definitely wasn’t too excited or believed too much. I am very aware that this job is one of the best in the world when it comes to the chance of winning a major competition. This is still the case.”

Carsley added: “Nothing has changed since the first press conference. It’s fantastic work.”

“I'm lucky to have a good job with the U21s, but after the first camp where I won both games with two good performances, my ambitions haven't changed.”

“It's important to give my best in the next three games. I am very satisfied with the communication with my bosses, nothing has changed in this regard.”

Pressed to answer whether he was interested in the role, Carsley added: “Nothing has changed in that regard. My job was to complete the three camps and then hand them over.”

There is a risk that the Carsley formation will backfire

Carsley also admitted that England only tried out the new formation for 20 minutes ahead of their game against Greece.

The former U21 head coach was without talisman Harry Kane due to injury, but instead of using alternative strikers such as Ollie Watkins or Dominic Solanke, he did without a recognized striker who would lead the team.

Anthony Gordon, Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Cole Palmer all came forward sporadically in more flexible roles as England struggled to threaten during the Nations League meeting.

Bellingham's late strike appeared to have saved the Three Lions a draw after Pavlidis' opener, but the Greek striker added a second goal in stoppage time to win the game.

“I think we were probably second best for a long time tonight,” Carsley said. “It's disappointing. We talked about it there, we will have setbacks, it is now important that we react well against Finland.”

Carsley didn't rule out trying the same system ahead of their next meeting against Finland on Sunday, but said: “We tried something different, we tried to overload the midfield, play a little bit differently.”

“This is something we tried for 20 minutes yesterday, something we experimented with and it was disappointing that it didn't work. But I think it was probably unrealistic to expect too much and I think it’s about trying again.”

Carsley has no regrets

Although the decision to forego a recognized striker backfired and England only managed a single shot on target before Bellingham's stunning goal almost saved the tie, Carsley stuck to his choice of tactics.

He said: “With the players we have, sometimes we have to be bold with our systems and be creative.”

“I could have easily gone with a recognized number 9 – we had two on the bench – but I felt it was important to try something different.”

“After the last two games I never thought I would make it, I wanted to try something different. I am responsible for this, it was entirely my idea. I thought for a long time about what it could look like, how it could structure and how it could feel.

“It didn’t work out tonight, but I don’t think we should rule out the opportunity to try something else.”