'I've spoken with Lee Carsley - he's told me whether he really wants the England job'

England's interim head coach Lee Carsley has refused to confirm whether or not he wants the job on a permanent basis after the loss to Greece at Wembley on Thursday night

Clinton Morrison claims England interim boss Lee Carsley DOES want the job on a full-time basis despite comments he made earlier this week.

Carsley, 50, was appointed on an interim basis following Gareth Southgate's resignation and then hinted he wanted the job permanently last month. However, the former Everton midfielder changed his tune after Thursday night's humbling loss to Greece.

The former Manchester City coach was criticised post-match for his tactics. He then sparked confusion when he said he would "hopefully" returning to his previous role as head coach of the England Under-21s.

But Morrison, who played with Carsley for the Republic of Ireland during his playing days, has rubbished talk that he doesn't want the job. And he reckons Carsley would jump at the chance to become head coach permanently if he was offered the chance.

Speaking on BBC Sport on Sunday, Morrison said: “I know Lee Carsley. I speak to him. We were room mates with the Republic of Ireland and we're still good friends.

“If the FA want Lee Carsley to take the job he will take the job. Him saying, 'I'll go back to the under-21s'...he meant if he did not get offered the [senior] job, hopefully he will be able to go back to the under-21s.”

Carsley enjoyed a dream start to life at the helm last month with comfortable wins over the Republic of Ireland and Finland and earned plenty of plaudits for his brand of football.

While his bid to simultaneously play a number of England's most influential attacking players in the same team backfired against Greece, the Three Lions bounced back with a 3-1 win over Finland on Sunday evening to hand Carsley a boost.

Join the debate! Do you want Carsley to get the England job? Let us know here.

Goals from Jack Grealish, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Declan Rice were enough to secure a vital win in Helsinki for a much-changed XI. In the build-up to the match, Carsley - who could receive clarity over his future in the coming weeks - insisted that England have to try 'something different' in a bid to be successful - whether that's with or without him.

He said: “The last thing that is important to me in this whole process is me. I don’t see this as an audition. I don’t see it as the biggest chance I have ever had. I see it as a privilege. I see it as an unbelievable responsibility.

“I have got three more games left, I want to try to make sure that the squad are in a really good position, that we have seen different players play in different positions and we are in a healthy position. ”

He added: “I have to try something because we’ve got to put ourselves in a position where we can win. To think that we can just do the same again and expect something different is naive. I’m really wary of the fact that the last time we won something was 1966, so we have to have that ability to try something different.”

Join our new WhatsApp communityand receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read ourPrivacy Notice.