HOKEY COKE-LEE

LEE CARSLEY sparked fresh confusion over the England manager’s job by appearing to rule himself out  — then back in again minutes later.

The interim boss last night claimed the Three Lions deserve a “world-class coach who has won trophies” and that he is “still on the path to that” after England’s 3-1 Nations League win over Finland.

But the 50-year-old Brummie then insisted it was “definitely” wrong to assume he does not want the job permanently.

It left fans none the wiser as to whether the former Under-21 boss — who has three wins in four games of a six-match caretaker spell — truly wants the gig full-time.

Carsley was first asked at full-time about reports on Saturday that he is not interested in his role being made permanent.

He said: “People are always going to try and put their chips on one side.

“I’m in the middle. My bosses have made it clear what they need from me. This job deserves a world-class coach who has won trophies and I am still on the path to that.”

But when later pushed on whether the permanent role was too soon for him, he said: “Definitely not. I tried to make it as clear as I could.

“My remit was for three camps. I’m not part of the process but it deserves a top coach.

“The players we have available, we’ve got a real chance of winning.

“That was the point I was making.”

Carsley’s latest cryptic answers came after Thursday’s claim he would “hopefully be going back to the Under-21s” in the wake of the shock 2-1 defeat to Greece.

Sunday night he pointed to previous caretaker roles at Coventry, Brentford and Birmingham for his reluctance to commit.

He said: “In the past when I’ve done this caretaker-interim role, I’ve gone so far down the ‘I don’t want the job’ [road], that I’ve not done the job.

“It’s important that I keep an open mind because in that case I’m not being reckless with my decisions, I’m thinking thoroughly about the squad I should pick.

“Selection is very difficult, the amount of players I have to leave out.”

Carsley, who led the Under-21s to Euros glory last year, said the Greece defeat was “really disappointing” as he is so used to winning with England.

He also understood why his enigmatic answers would frustrate fans.

The former Everton midfielder said: “I can definitely understand why you would be frustrated by it.

“Clarity is what everyone is looking for.

“I’m constantly saying to John McDermott [FA technical director], ‘Can I have an update? Can I have an update?’

“The job is difficult enough as it is.” — Sun.

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