Lee Carsley suffered a major blow to his hopes of becoming permanent England head coach on Thursday night, as Greece scored an emotional Wembley win.
Interim boss Carsley fell short of confirming that he wants the England job on a full time basis in a confusing post-match press conference after watching his risky attacking gamble sensationally backfire as Vangelis Pavlidis, who also netted Greece’s first, hit an injury-time winner after Jude Bellingham equalised to send Greece into a frenzy.
As Mail Sport predicted yesterday, Carsley named a team crammed with attackers: Bukayo Saka, Anthony Gordon, Phil Foden, Cole Palmer and Bellingham – deployed as a false nine – all included in a move that served to excite the fans.
But England were booed off at full-time as Carsley’s decision to shoehorn his best forward players in the team fell flat.
When asked whether the defeat would impact his ambitions of being named permanent boss, Carsley responded: ‘I was quite surprised after the last camp in terms of people saying the job is mine and it is mine to lose and the rest of it (after beating Ireland and Finland).
England interim England boss refused to be drawn on his future in the role after loss to Greece
He admitted ultra-attacking approach using Bellingham (pictured) as a false nine didn’t pay off
‘My remit has been clear from the start. I am doing three camps, there are three games left and then hopefully I will be going back to the U21s.
‘It (the defeat) has no impact. I said at the start I would not rule myself in or out and that is still the case.
‘I am more than comfortable in my position where I am. After the first camp I definitely didn’t get too excited or believe too much.
‘I know this job is one of the best jobs in the world because you actually have a chance of winning in terms of a major competitions and that is still the case.’
The 50-year-old was asked to clarify whether he wanted the job or not but fell short of providing a straight answer.
Carsley did insist, however, that he wouldn’t ditch his attacking approach despite the defeat, adding: ‘We tried it for 20 minutes yesterday (overloading the midfield), we experimented, and we disappointed it didn’t come off.
Carsley’s comments come following Greece’s emotional 2-1 win over England at Wembley
Greece’s Vangelis Pavlidis’ (pictured) double was enough to sink England in an emotional game on Thursday in a UEFA Nations League match-up
Carsley takes charge of England for the fourth time in their game against Finland on Sunday
‘We tried something different. With the players we have, we have to be courageous and creative with systems. I thought it was important to try something different. It was not an experiment – but a creative way of trying to play.
‘I never thought i had it cracked, I totally take the the blame for it. My idea. It didn’t come off but we shouldn’t rule out in the future.
‘I’m really reluctant on getting too down on the players, they are and outstanding squad and we can respond well in the next game.’
