Lee Carsley speaks following England appointment

Lee, you’re a few days into your role as interim head coach now. How does it feel to be given the opportunity?

Yeah, I feel privileged to be in the position. Obviously it’s a very prestigious job and following Gareth and Steve and the great job they’ve done, there’s a lot of responsibility. It’s something I’m really looking forward to with the challenge ahead in September and the games that are in front of us.

You’ve worked with many of the senior squad players already, both internationally and at club level, so how important and helpful will that be?

I think it definitely helps. I’ve got a relationship with those players and have known them quite a few years. There’s players that I don’t know as well, but I’m very much aware of them and I think we’ve got some outstanding players in the senior team. In the pathway, the level of players over the years has really improved and you can see that by the way we’ve done in major tournaments. The next step is winning, and that’s got to be the objective.

Gareth and Steve’s time came to an end in July, do you have a few words about the job that they did?

I think they did a great job and it was brilliant for me personally to work with them. They were so open and encouraging and very good people to work with, which is important obviously. The success that they had as well, it’s a shame they didn’t get across that final hurdle but the hope and the environment they created around England teams is a credit to both of them. It’s great that they’ve played such a pivotal role in English football and they’ll be remembered for a long time.

You supported Gareth and Steve at EURO 2024, as you had in previous tournaments as well, and as disappointing as it ended, how do you reflect on the journey we had?

It fascinates me around the impact it has back in England, with the amount of support that the team get and the expectancy that’s on their shoulders. It really does unite a country and it’s been good to see that and it’s testament to the staff that they’ve reached back-to-back finals, which isn’t easy. The last bit is going that extra mile and winning and I think we’ve got the players to do that.

In terms of the September camp, what are your aims and priorities?

First and foremost, it’s getting the squad together and picking the right players while trying to get a balance between making sure it’s fresh and competitive but understanding that there are games that we need to do well in and win so that’s what I’ll be looking to do. It’s important that we put our own stamp on the squad and make some adjustments, but also to realise that a lot of the players have done really well in the past and we have to acknowledge that.

Specifically, looking at our games against Republic of Ireland and Finland, what are the challenges they’ll both give us?

It's been a few days since I started watching them and the analysis team have been looking at them in depth. They’ll be two tough games they’ve both got a unique way of playing. With Republic of Ireland having a new manager as well, you’d expect a definite reaction from their players and I know John O’Shea had done a good job for them on a temporary point of view in getting them resilient.. It will be a really good test for us and it’s a game I’m looking forward to. Finland are also a tough team to play against, their manager has been there a while and they always seem quite resilient. It’s a game at Wembley which I’m really looking forward to. You always enjoy playing at home and it will be a great game for our staff in the first game at Wembley and it’s one we’re looking forward to being involved in. I’m excited to meet up with the players and really do well in the September window.

For the group of players, how important is it now to work towards the more long-term picture of the next World Cup?

That competition is now two years away, so it’s important that we see that in stages. Firstly, we need to set our stall out in the way we’re going to attack the Nations League and make sure we do well in that to lead us into the World Cup qualifiers. Ideally, I want them to enjoy camps and playing for England like they have done in the past with Gareth and Steve and hopefully we can continue that.

The new season is upon us now, so how closely will you be watching the players both domestically and abroad?

Yes, the monitoring of players has already started. We’ve watched a lot of the pre-season friendlies and I was at the Community Shield last weekend. It will be the same this weekend across Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday when I’ll be at games and we’ve got a really good insights department who will be monitoring all of the players. I’m looking forward to the season starting.

Finally, do you have a message for the England fans who are watching?

Yes, we really appreciate your support and hopefully you’ll get behind and really enjoy watching the team. Hopefully they’ll be excited by the future.