Carsley finds England job is about more than just coaching

Interim manager needs support to emulate Southgate’s navigation of matters off the field

- David Hytner

It required a double-take.

Was that Lee Carsley, the new England manager, albeit on an interim basis, laying out the cones for a warm-up drill on the Aviva Stadium pitch before his first game in charge against Republic of Ireland on Saturday? The top man on the coaching staff almost never does this; he delegates to an assistant. But yes, it really was Carsley - doing what he does, setting out as he intends to go on. "Well, I do have my qualifications," he said with a smile after overseeing a 2-0 victory that offered cause for optimism, even if the paucity of the opposition had to be considered.

We are learning more about Carsley each day, taking in his every move and it does remain "strange" - to borrow a line from the England captain, Harry Kane - to have a fresh face at the helm after all of those years under Gareth Southgate. It is inevitable that there will be comparisons.

The adjustment will take time.

"I definitely don't want to lose that... one of my biggest strengths is my coaching," Carsley said, when asked about being the pre-match cones man. "It's another chance to affect the players and spend some time with them. Even the possession [drill] we did before the game had a tactical element to it. So it helps. I have spoken before about the lack of time you get with the players." Morgan Gibbs-White, who made his debut as a 77th-minute substitute, knows Carsley well from playing under him at England Under-21 level. "He's a very hands-on manager," the 24-year-old Nottingham Forest player said.

"I believe that shows he believes in his own ideas and us seeing that makes us believe in him.