England interim boss Lee Carsley in comical bench blunder ahead of Nations League clash
Lee Carsley ensured an embarrassing mix-up when he accidentally took a seat on the Republic of Ireland bench before the Saturday's match against England at the Aviva Stadium.
The ex-Ireland player, who earned 40 caps for the Boys in Green, briefly settled in the home dugout before realising his mistake and moving to the correct bench.
Taking the reins of England's senior squad for the first time as interim manager after Gareth Southgate stepped down after the Euro finals, Carsley faced some flak from parts of the English press for his decision not to sing 'God Save the King' before the fixture.
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Carsley, born in Birmingham, defended his stance: "This is something that I always struggled with when I was playing for Ireland," he said.
He elaborated on the difficulty he found in the gap between warming up, entering the pitch, and the delay caused by national anthems, saying, "The gap between your warm-up, your coming on to the pitch and the delay with the anthems. So it's something that I have never done.", reports the Irish Mirror.
"I was always really focused 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 coach emphasised his focus on football and how this has carried over into his coaching philosophy.
"We had the national anthem with the Under-21s also and I am in a zone at that point."
Carsley continued, detailing his pre-game concentration: "I am thinking about how the opposition are going to set up and our first actions within the game."
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He concluded by expressing deep respect for both anthems and their significance: "I fully respect both anthems and understand how much they mean to both countries. It's something I am really respectful of."
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