Lee Carsley has insisted he stands by his decision not to sing the England national anthem during his brief spell in charge of the Three Lions.
The 51-year-old was given the keys to Wembley on a temporary basis last year following the departure of Gareth Southgate shortly after Euro 2024.
England won five of their six matches under Carsley, with a 2-1 defeat to Greece at Wembley the only time they failed to come out on top.
While the Three Lions were impressive on the pitch, however, there was controversy off it.
Lee Carsley has insisted he stands by his decision not to sing the England national anthem during his brief spell in charge of the Three Lions
PA
That's because Carsley, an Irishman, refused to sing the national anthem - despite the high-profile nature of his position.
Now, speaking to the Daily Mail, the former Premier League star has opened up on that saga - while insisting he's got no regrets.
"The national anthem… obviously it was a big thing but with the people I was talking to on the street, (the coverage) didn’t seem to marry up with what they were saying," he said.
"I respect the anthem but stand by it. There seemed to be an overreaction.
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"First game, Ireland away (the country he represented as a player), not ideal! It was tough, that.
"I respect people have their jobs to do and they are tough jobs. What I found interesting is what you’d read or see wasn’t reflected when I was out and about.
"There was a lot of positivity around the squad, making changes, freshening things up.
"I felt a wave of 'it’s young, it’s fast, it’s energetic, exciting'. Not that it wasn’t in the past but it probably needed that injection of enthusiasm from the players.
Lee Carsley won five of his six matches in charge of England
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"I don’t want to be the news. I’m always wary of becoming a headline, I don’t want the focus on me – I want it to be on the team.
"People might say 'he’s not good with the media', and that’s fine – I’m really good on the pitch. Like, really good on the pitch."
On Friday, England will play under Thomas Tuchel for the first time.
The charismatic German, who has won trophies with Bayern Munich, Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain and Borussia Dortmund throughout his career, will oversee their World Cup qualifying match against Albania.
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Carsley and Tuchel sat down for talks in January, with the former handing over a 'dossier' to his successor.
On what it contained, he added: "Did I say it was a dossier? I don’t think I did.
"Not a word I often use to be fair. I might have said handover but then it turned into a secret dossier, which sounds a lot better.
"It was pretty straightforward. It wasn’t going to be a case of me doing a presentation on the England team, he’s obviously very knowledgeable. No laser pens.
Lee Carsley thinks Thomas Tuchel is inheriting an England squad capable of finally winning something
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"It was handing over the team, going through some (funky) positions some can possibly play. They’ve settled in well - we’ve got a good relationship, open lines of communication.
"There is a lot of quality. A lot. I knew we had good players but the level is so high. I really believe they can go on and win now."
