Lee Carsley awkwardly takes a seat in the wrong dugout in first blunder as England interim manager ahead of Nations League clash with Republic of Ireland

Lee Carsley's tenure as England's interim manager started awkwardly as he sat in the wrong seat ahead of the match against the Republic of Ireland.

The 50-year-old took to the Aviva Stadium for the first time as England manager for Saturday's Nations League opener.

The match is expected to be the start of a six-game trial for Carsley, which could lead to him being permanently promoted from his role as Under-21 head coach.


But in an unanticipated gaffe, Carsley put a foot wrong as he stepped out of the tunnel.

Just before kick-off, Carsley headed for the home dugout - his international side's - before he was told he had made a mistake.

He initially saw the funny side of it as he smirked, but that disappeared almost immediately as he made his way to the right dugout, once again all business ahead of the clash.

Minutes later, Carsley risked infuriating fans after opting against singing the national anthem.

He was born in Birmingham but represented the Republic of Ireland at senior international level, had confirmed ahead of the match that he would not sing God Save the King.

Carsley insisted he would be too focused on the game ahead, and on Saturday afternoon, he was true to his word, staring straight ahead as the anthem was loudly booed by the home supporters.

'This (singing the anthem) is something that I always struggled with when I was playing for Ireland,' Carsley said on Friday.

'The gap between your warm-up, you're coming on to the pitch, and the delay with the anthems. So it's something that I have never done.

'I was always really focused on the game and my first actions of the game. I found that in that period I was wary about my mind wandering off.

'I was focused on the football and I have taken that into coaching.

'We had the national anthem with the Under 21s also and I am in a zone at that point. I am thinking about how the opposition is going to set up and our first actions within the game.

'I fully respect both anthems and understand how much they mean to both countries.'