England interim boss Lee Carsley has admitted to being “out of his comfort zone” after his first two games in charge. A brace from Harry Kane at Wembley continued the 50-year-old’s perfect start since taking over from Gareth Southgate, with the Three Lions beating Finland 2-0.
It followed Saturday’s win by the same scoreline over Ireland in Dublin, with England going into next month’s home game with Greece on six points in their Nations League group.
And afterwards, Carsley was pressed on how he has coped with the spotlight since stepping up from the under-21 squad.
“I definitely don’t feel comfortable still,” he told ITV. “I’ve been out of my comfort zone in this international window. It’s been enjoyable but I’ve had to make sure that I’m produding high standards every single day, as have the other staff.
“Everyone seems to have responded to it and we try and do as good a job as we can. We’ve been fortunate to get two results and we’ve just to build on that now.”
His frank response drew praise from pundit Roy Keane, who said: “He’s being very honest. He’s not trying to be somebody he’s not. So good on him.”
Carsley was also full of praise for skipper Kane, on a night he won his 100th cap for his country. He marked it by taking his record goal tally to 68 for England, and his current manager insisted he was committed to playing international football long-term. “Harry took his goals really well, a big occasion for him,” he said.
“Kids being here, an emotional night, but really happy for Harry. He fully deserves all the plaudits. What I have noticed this week is he is highly motivated to play for England and score goals and to have a centre forward like that, hopefully it continues.”
Another player to stand out was Trent Alexander-Arnold, who was deployed in an advanced role with Rico Lewis behind him. The Liverpool man had a hand in both goals and afterwards, Carsley explained the reasoning for his selection.
“We played Trent in a different position, along with Rico,” he said. “You have seen with Trent an array of passing, an ability to control the game. Not a surprise as we have seen him do it for Liverpool.”
Despite the two wins, England don’t lead the table in Nations League B Group 2. They trail Greece on goal difference after they beat Ireland 2-0 tonight.