I do not perceive Carsley’s choice, insists ex-England star

If you are English and proud of your country, you sing the national anthem whether you’re in the zone or not. That’s all I can say.

It gets you fired up. For me, playing with Terry Butcher, Des Walker, Bryan Robson and all the boys, whenever we sang God Save the Queen, we wanted it even more.

I don’t understand where Lee Carsley is coming from, but you have to respect it. If that’s what gets him going, I’m not saying it’s a bad thing.

Everyone makes their own decisions but it’s not the way I am. Whenever I pulled on the white shirt to represent the Three Lions – and he’s leading the country as a manager – I was proud to sing, no matter what. Everyone did. 

It felt natural to sing because you felt so patriotic.

England boss Lee Carsley will not sing the national anthem before his first game in charge

Carsley, who leads his side out against the Republic of Ireland, said he struggled with anthems

But former Three Lions World Cup semi-finalist Mark Wright has criticised Carsley’s stance

You have to accept the stance other people take, but ideally it would be better if everybody showed their feelings to the country, including the manager.

That’s what I believe. 

It is a touchy subject in this day and age. We are all built differently.

Maybe Lee doesn’t want to show disrespect for the Republic of Ireland team he once played for.

He took a stance because he thought he wouldn’t get a chance in the England set-up as a player, and in life you have to respect other people’s decisions.

I don’t think it will mean he’s any less motivated to win the game.

But I suppose deep down all England supporters want an English manager who will sing the anthem as proudly as any of his players, just like Gareth Southgate did in getting the country to semi-finals and finals.