Lee Carsley has given a stirring speech to his England squad, vowing to bring the best out of them. Upon their arrival at St George’s Park, Carsley held a team meeting where he expressed his desire for an attacking style of play.
The interim manager wants his young players to freely express themselves during England‘s upcoming Nations League match against the Republic of Ireland.
Carsley is being tested over six games for a permanent position and is placing his trust in the young talents from his under-21s team.
Despite complaints from England fans about former manager Gareth Southgate‘s cautious approach, it’s clear that Carsley aims to provide entertaining and aggressive football.
Manchester City‘s 19-year-old Rico Lewis shared: “In the meeting, he said: ‘We are here to get the best out of every player but we need to be on it.’ He emphasised the pressure on us, but also wanted to put pressure on the coaching staff to bring out our best.
“Even when I was with him with the 21s, he wanted to control the game, win, and be exciting. He always talked about playing exciting football so I don’t see why not this time.
“The players like it, definitely, especially for attackers, wingers, just want to be able to go and do their thing. That is what he wants to do, he wants to bring out the best in everyone and I think playing like that is the best way to do it.”
Lewis also gave a ringing endorsement of Carsley and says his experience of working with them at under-21s level will stand him in good stead in the next six games.
Lewis added: “Most of the younger players know him which will help us understand him more. But I don’t think it will take long for the rest of the team to get used to him.”
City teenager Lewis took the opportunity in pre-season to nail down a starting place in Pep Guardiola‘s line-up with his club mates still at the Euros under Southgate.
Lewis worked hard in the gym with his dad Rick, a two-time Thai kick boxing champion who has helped turn the 5ft 7in England star into a hard nut.
The defender, who can play in midfield, said: “I knew that England were doing really well in the Euros and that meant that the lads like John Stones and Kyle Walker would be coming late and that would give me opportunities on the tour and then the first few games.
“I had to be on it and I had to be fit so I could play. Just focus and every time I had the chance to play, just take it. I just want to continue focusing as much as I can.
“This pre-season before we came back I was doing stuff with my dad, just to get my fitness back and stuff like that. It’s a good way and a different way to get fit.
“You can take the discipline from the sport and put that into every day life. A lot of the actions you do in Thai boxing, there is a lot of balance, a lot of agility and I think that definitely helps me.
“It’s helped me from being young to now. My role now is being more of a midfielder, getting on the ball, turning and stuff like that, being stronger and agile. It’s definitely helped my game.”
His versatility makes him a strong option to play for England in Dublin against Ireland on Saturday and he thinks he can be a suitable fit for Carsley’s style if they want to dominate the ball.
Lewis added: “I think I am obviously biased because I play for City but the way we play is the best way to play I think and I think it’s definitely possible to do that with England because of the quality of players we have.
“We want to dominate pretty much every game we play. That is the intention, to dominate and control the whole game and with that comes a lot of exciting work. Also, controlling the game when we have not got the ball, as well.
“I never thought about going anywhere. I was training with the best players in the world and the best manager in the world day-in, day-out and it’s pretty much impossible not to learn stuff.
“Obviously playing games is important and that’s what people will look at how are you doing.”
