“This is something that I always struggled with.”
England’s interim manager Lee Carsley has said he won’t sing the national anthem before taking on the Republic of Ireland later today.
The 50-year-old took over the England role from Gareth Southgate earlier this year, but actually represented Ireland throughout his own playing career.
In a news conference ahead of the match, Carsley said that he didn’t sing the Irish national anthem back then, and he does not plan to sing the English national anthem now either.
“This is something that I always struggled with when I was playing for Ireland,” he said, via Sky News.
“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.
“I was really focused on the football and I have taken that in to coaching.”
He added that he never sang ‘God Save the King’ back when he was coaching the England Under-21s either.
However, he made it clear that his decision is not due to a lack of respect for the anthems.
“I fully respect both anthems and understand how much they mean to both countries. It’s something I am really respectful of,” Carsley said.
Carsley’s first game as interim manager takes place at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium, for the opening game of the Nations League.
The former Everton player rejected an offer to manage the Irish national team back in March, but is not the only member of the English side to turn his back on the Irish team.
Both Declan Rice and Jack Grealish previously played for Ireland, and Carsley was asked if he had concerns about this after picking both to play in the match.
“No, not all,” he said.
“We spoke – not only (to) Jack and Declan, to the whole squad – we spoke about the atmosphere we expect it to be.
“Exciting, passionate, loud, but it’ll be no different to what the players are used to in Premier League games or high level games. I think they’ll be ready for whatever comes out.”
The match kicks off at 5pm this evening, and will also mark a fresh start for the Irish side, with it being Icelandic manager Heimir Hallgrimsson’s first game in charge.
