Lee Carsley left in the dark over FA's plans to hire Thomas Tuchel as interim boss reveals new England manager has not been in touch

Carsley was appointed as the England interim boss in July after Gareth Southgate stepped down from his post as head coach following the Three Lions' Euro 2024 final loss to Spain in Berlin. Initially the England Under-21 manager, he will now oversee the senior side's last two Nations League group-stage clashes against Greece and the Republic of Ireland before newly appointed boss Tuchel takes over the side on January 1. However, Carsley has revealed that he did not know that Tuchel would be the one to take over from him until the FA's announcement in October, despite the German having signed his contract much earlier.

When asked by the media whether he knew about Tuchel having been signed before his side's 2-1 loss to Greece on October 10, Carsley said: "No. I can’t remember to be honest.

"My focus was massively on the games, on the camp. In terms of the timeline, it has been spoken about within the press conference that they [the FA] did. In terms of my position in that I’m really comfortable with the way that it was handled. I didn’t feel undermined or anything like that."

During the press conference, Carsley was also asked if he had been in extended contact with Tuchel ahead of the Nations League clashes. He replied: "No. I think with the press conference they [the FA] had, it was quite clear in terms of the starting date.

"He is fully respectful that I am in charge at the moment. That is the priority. I do not feel hard done by or shunned. If anything I look forward to hopefully create a situation where we can hand over a healthy squad of players to the new coach and his squad."

Carsley did, however, concede he had texted Tuchel to congratulate him on landing the permanent job.

The Three Lions will be in action next when they face Greece on November 14 at the Athens Olympic Stadium, before Carsley heads his last game as England's interim boss against Ireland on November 17 at Wembley.