I was caretaker for England, as was Lee Carsley, but he is better than me – he could force FA to become permanent boss

LEE CARSLEY’S audition for the England managership has Stuart Pearce reminiscing about the old days.

Following the shock sacking of Fabio Capello on 8 February 2012, Pearce, then the Under-21 manager, acted as interim coach while the English Football Association (FA) searched for a replacement.

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It is now more than ten years later and Carsley makes the move from the Young Lions. Between now and mid-November he will play six games. With that he proves that he can fill Gareth Southgate’s shoes.

And that starts on Saturday in Dublin, Republic of Ireland.

He may be playing it down, but it is clear that Carsley, 50, would seize the ‘impossible task’ with both hands – something that even Italian manager Capello found hard to stomach.

But the English top club is not for everyone, not even for Pearce, despite his active playing career with 78 caps for the Three Lions and a period as manager of Manchester City from 2005 to 2007.

Pearce led the U21s to the final of the European Championship in 2009. Former FA director of football Sir Trevor Brooking asked Pearce, then 49, if he saw himself as a candidate for the role.

Pearce told SunSport: “I told him I didn’t think I was ready for that jump. I felt I needed more experience. I always knew I was doing it for that one competition.”

That one match was a friendly at Wembley on February 29, 2012 against the Dutch team, who had just reached the final of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Pearce’s England team came back from 2-0 down, but eventually lost 3-2 to a late goal from Arjen Robben.

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Danny Welbeck, then 21, and Chris Smalling, then 22, played their fourth and third international matches respectively, with one and only international match as a substitute for 24-year-old striker Fraizer Campbell.

On May 1, Roy Hodgson was officially appointed on a four-year contract.

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Pearce left the FA 12 months later, after leading the British team to the quarter-finals of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Pearce continued: “I used that game to embed some of the younger players. Remember we had a European Championship that summer and an Olympics as well. It felt big, there’s no doubt about that.

“You put pressure on yourself. But it was the greatest honour to lead your country at a senior level.”

Carsley also made a name for himself within the English Football Association. In 2020 he started at the U20 and in July 2021 he moved up to the U21.

Players such as Mauricio Pochettino, who is set to coach the US national team, Jurgen Klopp, Pep Guardiola, Brendan Rodgers and Graham Potter have been linked with the full-time role.

But Pearce believes Carsley, whose Young Lions have won 23 of their 29 games and won the European Championship in the summer of 2023, has the upper hand.

His debut as an interim international for England comes in the Nations League matches against Ireland on Saturday and then Finland at Wembley on Tuesday.

Pearce added: “If you haven’t performed at international level yet, it can be daunting to come from outside.

“I’m sure Lee will feel that pressure, but he’s worked at the FA for a number of years and he understands the pressure, so he’ll be fine.”

“Carsley was a down-to-earth approach. He’s been down the same path as Southgate and these games aren’t high pressure.

“This will give the FA some time to look at other candidates.

“But make no mistake, this is an audition for Lee. It’s a fantastic opportunity to show what he can do.

“And if he does well, he might just force the FA.”

Carsley brutally defeated players like Kyle Walker, Aaron Ramsdale, Marcus Rashford and James Maddison.

Called-up players Angel Gomes, Tino Livramento, Morgan Gibbs-White and Noni Madueke all played under Carsley for the U21s.

Pearce added: “If he thinks this job is for him, he should use these games to prepare himself for a proper bid to win the 2026 World Cup.”

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