Lee Carsley says he will ‘hopefully go back to the under 21s’

'Hopefully I'll be going back to the under 21s'

Carsley, who stepped into the role after Gareth Southgate's departure in the summer, had a successful beginning before last night's disastrous loss to Greece, the first in England's history.

The manager accepted the blame for his tactics during the game, but perhaps his biggest comments came after the game when he told journalists that he wants to return to managing the under 21s.

When asked if he felt the 2-1 loss would impact his hopes of becoming permanent England manager, Carsley replied: "I was quite surprised after the last camp, in terms of, the job's mine and it's mine to lose, and all the rest of it. My remit has been the same from the start.

"I'm doing three camps. There's three games left. And hopefully I'll be going back to the under 21s."

Carsley was then pressed on whether or not he actually wants the England manager job permanently, to which he somewhat backtracked, saying: "I said at the start that I wouldn't rule myself in or out. That's still the case. I'm more than comfortable in the position that I'm in.

"After the first camp I definitely didn't get too excited or believe too much. I'm very aware that this job is one of the best jobs in the world in terms of, you've actually got a chance of winning. Obviously I'm talking about that after a loss but in terms of a major competition."

Then Carsley was pressed even further on whether he wants the job or not.

He responded saying: "Well nothing's changed in what I said at the first press conference. I think it's a fantastic job. I'm lucky that I've got a good job as it is in terms of the 21s. But like I say, after the first camp, when we won two games and had two really good performances my ambitions didn't change.

"I think it's important that I give it everything that I've got for the next three games. I'm really happy and comfortable in terms of the communication that I have with my bosses so nothing has changed in that respect."