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Carsley rose to prominence when the English Football Association resisted contact with top coaches

The English Football Association (FA) is taking its time finding a new head coach for the national team as Lee Carsley is running things. Former Three Lions manager Gareth Southgate resigned from his position in July after failing to triumph at Euro 2024. With Southgate at the helm, England finished second, as they did in the last tournament in 2021.

Following Southgate's decision to leave the club, the governing body appointed Lee Carsley as the team's head coach on an interim basis. Carsley was the natural choice as he most recently managed the England Under-21 team. Due to his previous job, the coach was familiar with many of England's older players.

The former Republic of Ireland midfielder has since taken charge of two Nations League games, both of which ended in 2-0 victories. He is expected to look after the team for two more games during the upcoming international break. England face Greece and Finland in UEFA Nations League B, Group 2.

FA have reportedly not contacted four high-profile English candidates

With Carsley only an interim manager, many assumed the FA would quickly target a top manager. Jürgen Klopp, Eddie Howe, Mauricio Pochettino, Graham Potter and Thomas Tuchel were considered for the role. However, Pochettino has since signed with the USMNT.

Sky Sports now reports that the FA hasn't even contacted Klopp, Howe, Potter or Tuchel. Three of these highly rated trainers are unemployed. This would make it much easier to reach them and discuss England's possible position. Howe is the only manager on the list who currently has a coaching job. The former defender has been at Newcastle since 2021.

The FA released a statement immediately after Southgate's resignation saying it wanted to appoint an official manager “as soon as possible”. However, this also happened when the governing body gave Carsley the reins for the autumn Nations League games. FA boss Mark Bullingham and technical director John McDermott are currently leading the search.

The English Football Association may see Carsley as a permanent solution

The FA's delay appears to suggest they are giving Carsley every chance to impress. So far the coach is taking advantage of the opportunity. England fans were used to a fairly boring and defensive line-up under Southgate. However, the team was regularly at the forefront in Carsley's first two games as coach.

While England looked much more in sync under Carsley, they were clear favorites in their last two games. England won against the Republic of Ireland and Finland. The two teams are currently ranked 62nd and 64th according to FIFA. The FA may well want to see how the Three Lions play in further clashes with Carsley.

Despite the success in a small sample, some England fans already have a problem with Carsley. Select fans don't like that the coach doesn't sing the national anthem before games.

Carsley, who was born in Birmingham but played internationally with the Republic of Ireland, previously claimed that he sings both nations' national anthems. The manager argued that he wanted to focus on the upcoming game instead.

Regardless of the backlash, a large majority of England fans only care about results. If Carsley can continue to win while implementing an offensive style, he will likely receive overwhelming support. This approval would then force the FA to actually consider the manager as England's next official manager.

PHOTOS: IMAGO.

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