Carsley defends team selection against Greece but says starting line-up against Finland will be ‘more conventional’ | OneFootball

England interim boss Lee Carsley defended his decision to start without a recognised striker in the defeat to Greece but admits he will revert back to a “more conventional” line up against Finland.

Carsley suffered his first defeat in temporary charge of the senior side in the Nations League clash with Greece, in which he opted to play Jude Bellingham as a false nine in Harry Kane’s absence through injury despite also having Ollie Watkins and Dominic Solanke in the squad.

Kane has trained with the team and is expected to start against Finland on Sunday but Carsley insists he has no regrets about his team selection against Greece.

He said: “It’s something I’ll look back on in maybe two or three months and be better for it.

“I wanted to give this job my best shot for the three camps that we spoke about and didn’t want to have any regrets.

“It’s important, like I spoke about before, that we do try something different at times and I think I’ll be a better coach for that.

“But I think we’ll probably be a bit more conventional tomorrow night.”

Carsley is one of the candidates to replace Gareth Southgate as permanent England manager but attracted widespread criticism following the loss to Greece.

But the former Derby County and Everton midfielder says fans are entitled to react negatively.

“It’s always tough, the scrutiny that we’re under, but it’s nothing I’m not used to having been a professional footballer for such a long time,” he added.

“I think the reaction is fair enough. You have to respect people’s opinions. We didn’t play as well as we can on the night and I’d expect a reaction tomorrow night.”

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