Jermain Defoe: Carsley Must Come Out And Say He Wants The England Job

Jermain Defoe will be one of the stars at the Scottish Masters which takes place at Aberdeen’s P&J Live on November 14.

The ex-England, Tottenham and West Ham striker will be playing alongside some of the great Rangers players from the past like Barry Ferguson, Kris Boyd and Lee McCulloch in a four-team competition.

Defoe’s former club Rangers will also be up against arch rivals Celtic, Aberdeen and Dundee United, who are sponsored by Gambling.com. Tickets are available here. 

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Defoe made his England debut in 2004, making 57 appearances and scoring 20 goals, including three appearances and a goal at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

In an exclusive interview with Gambling.com, he spoke about the current speculation around the national team manager vacancy with Lee Carsley still acting as interim boss as the Football Association consider their next move.

Defoe believes that Carsley must decide if he wants the role on a full time basis saying: “I think it’s up to him."

“From what I’ve seen in his interviews, he's not really come out screaming about it. He's not really come out saying ‘I want this'".

In a bizarre post-match interview after his side's 3-1 win over Finland in Helsinki on Sunday, Carsley raised eyebrows by first saying that the England job “deserves a world-class coach who has won trophies”.

That response seemed to indicate he was not the right man for the role at this moment in time, but when asked whether he was ruling himself out, though, he said “definitely” not.

Carsley is currently 2/1 with football betting sites to be the next permanent England manager, having once been 1/6 favourite before a humiliating home defeat to Greece in the Nations’ League.

Former Bayern Munich boss Thomas Tuchel (6/4) leads the market, but Defoe feels that Carsley still has plenty to offer the Three Lions.

"I actually met Lee Carsley last year on one of my courses." explained Defoe. "We sat down with him for like a couple of hours, a few ex players, just to pick his and Gareth’s (Southgate) brain and he really impressed me to be honest, he’s a really cool guy. 

"He's not really interested in all the media stuff, he just wants to get on the grass and coach and his journey is amazing. 

"He was really honest, and he said when he first started coaching he knew he had to improve and he did as much coaching as he could to improve, so that’s someone that wants to obviously get better and better." 

Carsley's tenure as England boss began brightly, beating Finland at Wembley in his first game in charge before following that win with a 2-0 victory over Ireland in Dublin.

But the honeymoon period didn't last long England were beaten by Greece at Wembley on October 10 with the stand-in gaffer making six changes, favouring a more attacking line-up that featured Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden, Cole Palmer, Bukayo Saka and Anthony Gordon.

Regardless of who is picking the team next time England play in mid-November, once more against Greece and Ireland, Defoe feels they have a wealth of talent at their disposal as they set their sights on qualification for the 2026 World Cup.

“It's hard because how do we get all our best players on the pitch, it’s so difficult,” said Defoe.

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“The first game against Greece didn't work with a false nine. Years before Spain did it and won the Euros with the players that they had. 

“But it's a different kind of football, the way they're brought up on tiki-taka football, just keeping possession.

“I think in England it's a different way of playing. We play on a front foot, with more intensity and attack faster. Obviously it didn't work, but he tried. You have to try things. 

“Against Greece, when Ollie Watkins came on I thought he made a difference as he runs in behind, he is so dynamic and he gets you up the pitch. 

“When you've got those sorts of options, it's a dream for the manager. This is why the managers get the big money, because at the end of the day, when you've got all these good players and you have to find a way to get them in. 

“You have to find a formation to get the best players on the pitch - it's not easy.”

Whoever takes the reigns at St George’s Park, they will have to build on the firm foundations built by Gareth Southgate, who stood down after leading England to the final of Euro 2024 where his side were beaten in the final by Spain.

The former Crystal Palace defender also took the Three Lions to the final of Euro 2020 as well as the last-eight of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and has been mentioned as the possible next Manchester United manager should Erik ten Hag leave his role.

The 54-year-old, who won 57 caps for his country, is 3/1 with betting sites to be the next man through the door at Old Trafford but not before a break according to Defoe.

“There was an evening with Gareth Southgate about a month ago in London,” he revealed. “I was lucky enough to have been there, and I spoke to him after.

“He just said he wants to chill, spend some time with the family and see what happens after that. Then obviously the other day he came out and said that he’s not going to coach within the next year. 

“The vibe I get from him at the minute is that he just wants to try and switch off, recoup and get those energy levels back. 

“When you're an England manager, there is so much pressure and he did it for a long time. 

“So I think for him, if he wants to have a year or two out, where he can sort of reflect and recharge the batteries, then after that he's going to have loads of options."