LEE CARSLEY DOUBLES DOWN ON ENGLAND NATIONAL ANTHEM STANCE AS ROY KEANE GIVES VERDICT

Roy Keane has defended Lee Carsley after the interim England manager doubled down on his decision not to sing the national anthem.

Carsley is taking charge of England for the first time as they clash with the Republic of Ireland and explained ahead of the game that him not singing 'God Save the King' has nothing to do with the fact he earned 40 caps for them as a player.

"This is something that I always struggled with when I was playing for Ireland," Carsley said. "The gap between your warm up, you 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 gonna 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's comments have received some backlash, but Keane has defended his decision and described the criticism as "unfair". "Welcome to the reality of managing England," said Keane, who played alongside Carsley for Ireland.

"He's obviously coached a lot at underage level and done very well, this is now senior level and with England there's huge pressure and huge demand and maybe this is an introduction to those demands. It is unfair of course, but this is the industry we're in.

"We're talking about people losing their jobs because they don't sing a national anthem. I played with him at Ireland and he didn't sing it then and it wasn't an issue then. The priority is to try and win football matches and that will take care of everything else."

And when asked about the criticism he has received, Carsley doubled down on his stance. "I think like I said in my first press conference, today is an immensely proud position for myself and for my family," he told ITV.

"I've got so much respect for both national anthems. I'll stand there proud today and like I say, it's a really proud moment and I can't wait for the game. I'm not sure [if it's unfair] to be honest, everyone is entitled to their opinion.

"As a player making my debut in 96 or 97, I was totally focused on the game. It was something I found difficult to get used to in terms of the delay. So I used that time to concentrate and keeping my focus and it hasn’t changed since I started coaching."

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2024-09-07T15:29:14Z dg43tfdfdgfd