England interim boss Lee Carsley 'didn't enjoy' first match in charge and explains why

England interim boss Lee Carsley admitted he ‘didn’t enjoy’ his first match as manager, despite the Three Lions putting on a classy showing away to Ireland.

First-half goals from Declan Rice and Jack Grealish saw England race to an early lead, as Carsley’s side operated with fresh dynamism and panache in attack.

The free-flowing football was stunted somewhat in the second half as the hosts regained a foothold in the game, but England remained comfortable with their two-goal cushion and managed to keep hold of their clean sheet.

But a surprise admission from Carsley post-match revealed he didn’t enjoy his first experience as England manager.

Speaking to talkSPORT, the ex-Everton man commented: “I definitely didn't enjoy it.

"I think you tend not to enjoy these games. You just want the players to do well. You want to see on the pitch some of the things that we've seen in training, which we were lucky to do that.

"We said before the game, when I spoke yesterday, that we've had four sessions with the players. I thought they've done really well today.

"Coming off the back of a real downtime in the summer and losing to Spain, the way that they've responded now, they should be proud of themselves."

Away from the pitch, Carsley had been in the spotlight after news broke he wouldn’t sing God Save the King prior to kick-off - a position the former Ireland international has adopted since taking over as England under-21s boss.

Explaining his position ahead of the contest, Carsley said: “This is something that I always struggled with when I was playing for Ireland. 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.

“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. It’s something I am really respectful of.”

Carsley will take charge of his second England game as boss on Tuesday night at home to Finland.