Lee Carsley risks angering fans by opting not to sing the national anthem as England caretaker boss takes charge of first game against Ireland in Dublin
Carsley was on the bench at the Aviva Stadium for the first time as England’s caretaker manager for Saturday’s Nations League opener.
The game is expect to be the start of a six-game test of Carsley’s skills, which could see him promote from the Under-21s manager role into the permanent head coach of the senior national team.
Carsley, who was born in Birmingham but chose to represent Ireland, confirmed before the match that he would not sing God Save the King.
‘This (singing the anthem) is something that I always struggled with when I was playing for Ireland.
‘The gap between your warm-up, you’re coming on to the pitch and the delay with the anthems. So it’s something that I have never done. I was always really focuse on the game and my first actions of the game. I really found that in that period I was wary about my mind wandering off.
The 50-year-old insisted he was focuse on the game ahead and when the time came he kept his word, staring straight ahead as the crowd sang the national anthem.
Former England defender Mark Wright didn’t exactly disagree with Carsley’s decision but compared his pride to Gareth Southgate’s performance of the national anthem, saying deep down fans want an England manager who sings the anthem with as much pride as his players.
Talk Sport host Jamie O’Hara went further ยูฟ่าเบท, claiming Carsley was a national disaster before the game even started.