Lee Carsley: I will put my own stamp on England

Lee Carsley has vowed to put his “own stamp” on his first England squad in his first interview since being appointed interim manager.

Carsley is poised to name his players in the next fortnight for the Uefa Nations League matches against Republic of Ireland and Finland next month.

After taking over from Gareth Southgate, the 50-year-old says his aim is to help England take the next step and win a major tournament after reaching the last two finals of the European Championship.

He has revealed that analysis of players has already started in pre-season and he will have players who missed out on the Euros through injury or form desperate to get back into the England plans.

“First and foremost it is getting the squad together, picking the right squad and trying to get a balance between making sure it is fresh and competitive while understanding that it is games we need to do well in and win,” Carsley said.

“Everything is in balance and that is what I’ll be looking to do. I think it is important we put our own stamp on the squad and make subtle adjustments but I think it is important to realise as well the players have done really well in the past and we have to acknowledge that.”

The likes of Jack Grealish and James Maddison missed out on the squad for Germany, while Harry Maguire was injured and Ben White ruled himself out of contention for England last season.

Carsley is stepping up from the Under-21s where he has worked with the best of England’s young players.

“I have a relationship with the players and have known them quite a few years. There are a lot of players that I don’t know, but I’m very much aware of them,” he said. “We’ve got some outstanding players in the senior team and in the pathway. The level of player in the last few years has really proved, you can see that by the way we’ve done in major tournaments. The next step is winning and that has to be the objective.”

Carsley, while in interim charge, was also asked about the World Cup in two years’ time and says the preparation starts now.

“The World Cup is two years away so it is important we see that in stages,” he said. “First we need to set our stall out in the way we are going to attack the Nations League and make sure we do well in that and then lead us into the World Cup qualifiers.

“Ideally I want them to enjoy camps, enjoy playing for England like they have in the past with Gareth and Steve. Hopefully we can continue that. The monitoring has already started, we’ve watched a lot of friendlies and have an insight department monitoring all the players, I’m looking forward to the season starting.”

Carsley is expected to be at Old Trafford for the Premier League opener between Manchester United and Fulham, having watched Erik Ten Hag’s team play against Manchester City at the Community Shield last weekend.