The coach has stepped up to temporarily lead the national team during the Nations League matches this autumn and confessed that he was uncertain as to whether he was up to the job before the fixture against the Irish at the weekend.

Carsley said: "In the back of your mind you always think... you know, it's easy to be the England manager, isn't it, when you're sat in the house.

"There have been times where I've thought I'm not sure if I could do it.

"But it [the Dublin win] has done my confidence good, and the rest of the staff as well, that actually we're OK, we'll be all right.

"I think it's natural to have doubts."

Carsley has impressed with his work in charge of the England Under-21 side and revealed that he considers himself to be a "head coach" rather than a "manager".

He said: "I wouldn’t say I was a manager, definitely not.

"I see myself as a head coach. I have some real good support around me who help and take a lot of pressure away from me. That gives me the chance to coach and be on the grass and hopefully make a difference. That’s the way I have got to do it. I couldn’t see myself doing it any other way."

Carsley added that the idea of a "manager" is becoming less relevant in modern football.

He said: "Looking back to when I first started, the manager would do everything, including organising travel and transfers. Those days are probably gone now. The amount of support now that’s based around a head coach gives coaches the freedom to do what they do best.

"I am really lucky with the people that are in charge and are my bosses. They know what my strengths are and aren’t gonna ask me to be anything I am not. My strength is coaching, being on the pitch. This [talking] isn’t my strength, what I am doing now. It’s something that I understand that comes with the job, as I saw yesterday. I have my own way of doing it."