Lee Carsley appears to rule himself out of the permanent England job as interim boss says Three Lions ‘deserve a world class coach that’s won trophies’

England interim manager Lee Carsley has seemingly ruled himself out of the job on a permanent basis.

There have been major internal doubts in recent days over whether Carsley wants the role after he ‘hopefully’ said he can return to the Under-21s once his interim period is over.

Carsley took charge of the Three Lions following the departure of Gareth Southgate in August.

He made an impressive start with 2-0 wins over Ireland and Finland, but suffered a shock defeat to Greece in his third match at Wembley on Thursday.

England bounced back with a 3-1 win over Finland in Helsinki on Sunday, but Carsley appeared to confirm his days in charge are numbered after the match.

Asked if he still wanted to be manager after the November international break, Carsley said: ‘I haven’t thought about it that much.

‘I know I keep saying the same thing. My assignment was to play six matches. Really happy with it. It is a privileged position that I find myself in.

‘I’m really enjoying it. I didn’t enjoy it the last two days, it was hard work. I’m just not used to losing in an England team and I don’t handle losing very well.’

Asked if it’s true that he doesn’t want the job, he replied: ‘I think people are always, you know, trying to put their chips aside.

Lee Carsley has seemingly ruled himself out of taking the England job on a permanent basis

‘I’m right in the middle of it. My bosses have made it very clear what they need from me. This job deserves a world-class coach who has won awards and done it, and I’m still on my way to doing that.”

Carsley will have been pleased with his team’s performance against Finland on Sunday as Jack Grealish, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Declan Rice got on the scoresheet.