Defender Marc Guehi paid tribute to Lee Carsley for helping him develop into an England international.
Carsley managed the Crystal Palace defender at Under-21s level and handed him the armband before he stepped up to the senior side in 2022.
The interim boss looks set to reinstate Guehi to the side for Sunday’s Nations League game with Finland in Helsinki on Sunday after he was on the bench for Thursday’s defeat to Greece.
And the 24-year-old says he has a lot to thank Carsley, who has come under fire for his tactics in that Greek defeat, for.
“It’s always exciting to play for Lee, he’s definitely someone I respect a lot, someone who I have a lot of admiration for,” he said.
“What he’s done for me as a player, how he’s helped me in the younger ages, and helped me improve.
“That’s because of him, that I was able to make that step up to the seniors as well. So it’s been fantastic.”
Guehi says the squad is determined to put Thursday night right and resurrect their hopes of finishing top in Group B2.“The scrutiny I don’t pay too much attention to, just because I’m not aware too much of it,” he said.
“I know we have standards for ourselves in the camp, and we try to set those for ourselves.
“I think it’s important that we put things into perspective. There are loads of senior players in the team, and players in the team have dealt with defeats and difficult moments, so I think everyone’s just riding together and making sure that tomorrow we can go and get a reaction.”