Lee Carsley insists he would be 'more than happy' to return to England U21s side after interim spell | OneFootball

Carsley’s tactics came undone in a shock Wembley defeat to Greece

Lee Carsley insists England's shock defeat to Greece will have "almost no impact" on his chances of landing the job on a permanent basis and says he is "more than comfortable" to return to his job as Under-21 boss next month.

Vangelis Pavlidis' 94th-minute winner condemned England to an embarrassing Nations League reverse at Wembley, as Carsley's decision to cram his XI full of attacking talent backfired.

Carsley stepped up from his role as Under-21s boss to take charge of England's three autumn camps on an interim basis, but is widely thought to be in the frame to permanently succeed Gareth Southgate.

He led the side to wins over the Republic of Ireland and Finland last month but his side were comprehensively outplayed by Greece.

"I was quite surprised after the last camp in terms of [people saying] the job’s mine and it’s mine to lose and all the rest of it," Carsley said afterwards.

"My remit has been clear. I’m doing three camps, there’s three games left and then hopefully I’ll be going back to the 21s. It’s had almost no impact."

Asked to clarify if he was actual hopeful of returning to the U-21s and therefore did not want the senior job, Carsley said: "No, well, I said at the start I wouldn’t rule myself in or out. That’s still the case.

"I’m more than comfortable in my position, where I am. The remit was clear. I’m comfortable and confident with that.

Lee Carsley is facing first serious questions over chances of landing permanent job

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"After the first camp I 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. You’ve actually got a chance of winning. Obviously I’m talking about that after a loss, but a major competition. That’s still the case.

"Nothing’s changed. My remit was to do the three camps and then to hand over. Nothing’s changed in what I said in the first press conference. It’s a fantastic job. I’m lucky I’ve got a good job as it is in the 21s.

"But after the first camp when we won two games and had two good performances nothing changed. It’s important that I give it everything I’ve got for the next three games. I’m really happy and comfortable with the communication I have with my bosses. Nothing’s changed in that respect."

In a decisive break from Southgate's conservative approach, Carsley played an ultra attacking line-up against Greece, with Jude Bellingham as a false nine, Cole Palmer in midfield and three forwards in Bukayo Saka, Phil Foden and Anthony Gordon.

England were wide open defensively, with Greece seeing three goals disallowed for offside and denied by a spectacular goal-line clearance from Levi Colwill.

Bellingham looked to have salvaged a point with a leveller three minutes from time but Pavlidis' second close-range finish of the match earned Greece a deserved win.

Jude Bellingham’s late strike was not enough to earn a point

AP

"We tried something different with the formation, with the areas of the pitch we tried to get into," Carsley said.

"We never really gave ourselves the chance to see if it was the right decision or wrong. Obviously looking at the result and the way the game panned out, it was a challenging night for us. I thought Greece played well and were highly-motivated as you might expect. I just thought we were second best tonight.

"With the players that we've got, we've got to be courageous at times with our systems and be creative.

"I could have quite easily gone with a recognised nine, we had two on the bench, but I thought it was important to go with something different. At this stage as well, coming off the last two games, I never at any point I'd got it cracked, it was a case of, 'let's try something different'.

"I'd happy to take the blame for that. It was totally my idea. I thought about it long and hard in terms of how it might look, how it might feel. It probably didn't come off tonight...it definitely didn't but I don't think we give up on having that opportunity to try something different.

"With the players that we've got, that is the challenge, to try and find a way to get our most attacking players on the pitch. Obviously you can't forget the other end as well in terms of how important that is. And some of the gaps and chances that we afford the opposition if we do go down that route.

"But I thought again we've tried something and it's not quite come off."