England interim manager Lee Carsley has explained why he does not sing God Save The King before games.

Carsley has been named as the temporary successor to Gareth Southgate and will take charge of his first game on Saturday night.

Incidentally, that first match comes away at rivals Republic of Ireland – the national team Carsley represented as a player.

But the former midfielder did not sing the Irish anthem when on international duty either. Ahead of Saturday’s encounter at the Aviva Stadium, Carsley explained his stance.

“This is something that I always struggled with when I was playing for Ireland. 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,” he said.

“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.”

After taking on Ireland, England return home to face Finland at Wembley on Tuesday.

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