Alan Shearer Exclusive: Carsley has done himself no harm but it's World Cup or bust for Tuchel | OneFootball

Alan Shearer

Alan gives his thoughts on England managers and former players

In another exclusive for Betfair, Alan Shearer talks about Lee Carsley, England and Thomas Tuchel as well as giving his opinions on former Three Lions midfielders, now turned managers, Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard...

Lee Carsley has helped navigate a path from u21s to Senior team

Lee Carsley will take his final England camp as interim manager over the next week, and coming into the job, he knew a lot of the u21 players and felt he could trust them.

Also, as a reward for their success together in the u21s, it was right that he gave them a chance at full international level and that's worked out, despite the defeat to Greece.

He was right to do that, have fresh ideas and bring in those players.

It's been tough for Lee Carsley, whether he knew the new manager was coming in or not, he was always in a difficult position having to go into press conferences and answer the different questions that were being thrown at him.

I hope he's enjoyed his time though. He's done himself no harm whatsoever and the England interim spell was a great opportunity for him.

No bedding-in period for Tuchel - it's World Cup or bust

I am surprised Thomas Tuchel didn't take over the side immediately - whether he had other commitments that he had to get out the way this year we don't know - but it is a bit of a surprise considering he could have gone in straight away and had a look.

From January, there is no bedding in period for him; he's been employed to go and win England the World Cup.

There's no time for him to settle in - he must go in, get England on the front foot and get ready for the World Cup and to go and win it.

It will be interesting to see whether Tuchel will go along the same route as Carsley when it comes to the youngsters, whether he's seen enough to include certain players in his first squad when he names that next year.

Greece will be tough but I expect England to comfortably beat Ireland

Ireland travel to Wembley on Sunday and if we think back to the way England played in Ireland a couple of months back, I don't see Ireland troubling England at all like Greece did and it should be a relatively comfortable evening for England.

It will be a lot tougher in Greece, although we'll see a different team to the one that was put out at Wembley because Lee has had to change the squad around a lot.

I knew there would be a lot of changes to the squad because of fixture congestion at clubs, which then frees up opportunity for other players to come in and do the job, like Morgan Rogers.

Can England win both games? They can, but it will be a tough game against Greece and because of the way Greece played at Wembley, the atmosphere there will make it a difficult game.

Lampard may get Coventry job but sacking of Mark Robins was harsh

First and foremost, I found it incredibly harsh for Mark Robins to be sacked last week, for what he did at Coventry and some of the great moments he gave them, but I suppose that's the horrible side of football management.

Clearly the owners thought it was the right choice to sack Mark Robins and in doing that, they have to now bring in someone special to replace him to get the fans backing.

Every report or comment I have seen expresses the disappointment of losing Mark Robins so whoever they appoint, they must get it right, otherwise the owners will face backlash from the fanbase.

The club's owner has since confirmed Frank Lampard is a candidate for the job; there's no doubt Frank wants to be a manager and the longer you're out the game, the harder it is to get back into, so it's no surprise seeing his name linked with Coventry.

Some Rangers fans may love Gerrard return

Rangers manager Phillipe Clement is under pressure with the club not where it wants to be, nine points behind both Aberdeen and Celtic in the Scottish Premiership.

Steven Gerrard has been linked with a return to the club, because I see his recent results in Saudi and he's getting a bit of stick at the moment. However, as a manager he will know, you will always get criticism at some stage.

I don't know what's going on at Rangers, I read the reports like everyone else, and the club is certainly not where it wants to be. They are not getting results and there's problems off the field, so whether that would appeal to Steven if things don't improve in Saudi, who knows.

I do know that when he was at Rangers, he had an incredible time there and gave them great moments, so he'll be fondly thought of, and I guess some would love him back for how he won the league there and for toppling Celtic.

However, I don't know how Steven's life is going, whether he's enjoying Saudi Arabia and for tax reasons, he may not be able to come back yet!