Harry Kane: England captain motivated more than ever after Euro 2024 pain

Carsley has been given two games as interim boss, but could get more as the Football Association search for a permanent replacement for Gareth Southgate.

Southgate resigned two days after the defeat to Spain.

A win against the Republic of Ireland followed by victory over Finland, also in the Nations League, on Tuesday at Wembley could well help Carsley’s cause of landing the job full-time.

The next England manager will not only be expected to take the team to the 2026 World Cup but charged with winning it.

Carsley insisted he was not taking over a team low in confidence.

“I definitely don’t see this as a fresh start,” he said. “I believe we’re in a strong position. They [England] were in a low position when Gareth Southgate took over. It’s totally different now.

“Standards are so high. Hopefully they can go that one step further [to winning something]. That last push is the hardest thing.”

Carsley will be facing the national team he represented 40 times as a player. When asked by reporters if he would be singing the national anthem he said he would not – but added it had nothing to do with facing the Irish.

“This is something that I always struggled with when I was playing for Ireland,” he said. “The gap between your warm-up, coming on to the pitch and the delay with the anthems. So it’s something that I have never done.

“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. I was really focused on the football and I have taken that into coaching.

“We had the national anthem with the under-21s also and I am in a zone at that point. I am thinking about how the opposition are going to set up and our first actions within the game.

“I fully respect both anthems and understand how much they mean to both countries.”