Roy Keane delivers blunt verdict on Lee Carsley’s anthem row as interim England boss prepares for his first game in charge of Three Lions

Ireland great Roy Keane offered a sharp verdict when questioned about interim England boss Lee Carsley’s anthem row.

Carsley takes charge of England for the first time in his career against Ireland, the nation who he made 40 appearances for during his playing days.

However, the 50-year-old made headlines on Friday when he revealed he had no intention of singing ‘God Save the King’ prior to the contest.

Carsley pointed out he also did not sing the Irish anthem before games, nor did he sing ‘God Save the King’ prior to England’s under-21 matches when he was in charge. 

Despite Carsley’s explanation, his decision sparked a meltdown among sections of the English football community, especially given his predecessor Gareth Southgate was seen belting it out before games.

Carsley’s anthem reveal sparked plenty of critical reactions from football fans and pundits

Keane, who played alongside Carsley for Ireland, was asked about his thoughts on the matter during the pre-match coverage on ITV.

‘Welcome to the reality of being manager of England,’ Keane said.

But the Manchester United legend defended Carsley and believed results would quiten the anthem storm.

‘It is unfair, of course it is,’ Keane said.

‘The priority is to try and win football matches and that will take care of everything else. He’s come through the youth teams, this is senior and there’s huge pressure. Huge demands.

‘He played for Ireland, he never sung it with the U21’s, it wasn’t an issue then.’

Former England international Ian Wright shared a similar stance, labelling the anthem fiasco a ‘storm in a teacup’.

‘I really do feel for him in that respect,’ Wright said.

Carsley revealed he never sang the Irish anthem during his international playing days

Keane went in to bat for his former Republic of Ireland teammate amid the anthem debate

Ian Wright also leapt to Carsley’s defence and called the anthem fiasco a ‘storm in a teacup’

 ‘There’s already pressure on him. The fact is you are going to be judged on the results. When you look at the chance he’s got to get it, he’s focused on the football side.

‘As a football person he’s probably trying to think about what he’s doing, not realising it’s a massive thing for other people.’

Speaking on Friday, Carsley expanded on his rationale for not singing the anthem.

‘This (singing the anthem) is something that I always struggle with when I was playing for Ireland,’ Carsley said.

‘The gap between your warm-up, you’re coming on the pitch and the delay with the anthems. So it’s something I have never done. I was always really focused on the game and my first actions of the game.

‘I really found that in that period I was wary about my mind wandering off.’