England interim manager Lee Carsley does not plan to sing the British national anthem before his first game in charge against Ireland in Dublin on Saturday. Carsley claimed he has never sung a national anthem during his time as Republic of Ireland player or England Under-21 coach.
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And the 50-year-old, who has succeeded Gareth Southgate as England boss while the Football Association search for a permanent replacement, is set to continue that policy at the Aviva Stadium. Saturday’s Nations League opener will be a “proud moment for myself and my family” according to former Everton star Carsley, who played 40 times for Ireland.
But singing “God Save the King” before kick-off will not be on Carsley’s agenda as he prefers to focus on his tactics in the final moments ahead of the match.
“This is something that I always struggled with when I was playing for Ireland,” England-born Carsley told reporters on Friday. “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.
“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.”
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