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England boss Lee Carsley lived in football 'bubble' until disabled son changed everything

England boss Lee Carsley is preparing to take charge of his first game as interim manager, but family will always come first for the former Everton star

[England manager Lee Carsley with his wife Louisa and son Connor when he was younger]

England manager Lee Carsley with his wife Louisa and son Connor when he was younger(Image: BPM)

Lee Carsley was thrust into the limelight in August when the FA announced he would be taking over from Gareth Southgate as interim manager of England.

Perhaps the hardest job in football, the pressure and expectation weighed heavily on his predecessor and the next two games represent an audition of a lifetime for the former Everton midfielder. The 50-year-old was born in Birmingham and started his career at Derby County, before later moving to Merseyside where he played almost 200 games for The Toffees.

Carsley chose to represent the Republic of Ireland at international level whom he qualified for through his grandmother, who hailed from from County Cork. He made his debut in 1997 and was part of the side that qualified for the 2002 World Cup under Mick McCarthy before leaving the international setup in 2008 to focus on his family.

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Carsley is married to wife Louisa with the pair having three children, Callum, Connor and Lois. While the ambition to coach at the top level has clearly always been there, he has sacrificed a lot to ensure he has time to care for his second son Connor, who lives with down syndrome.

"At first they didnt realise and it wasnt for a few weeks they discovered it," Carsley told the Liverpool Echo in an interview detailing their experiences with Connor back in 2013. "It was a blow. Having a child is the best feeling in the world and then when you realise all is not well.. there is not a worse feeling in the world.

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[England boss Lee Carsley with his disabled son Connor]

England boss Lee Carsley with his disabled son Connor when he was younger(Image: Birmingham Post and Mail)

Carsley explained how he was too focused on work at the time - when still playing for Derby - and didn't take the news on board in the way he should have, because he felt under pressure and the club "thought it was better I get my head back to playing". But he soon realised their life had changed forever, with wife Louisa showing "the patience of an angel" in helping to teach Connor, who also required physiotherapy.

He said: "Before we had Connor we lived in a bubble. We didnt have money problems and I was not worrying about whether we could afford to eat or book nice holidays. So yes, it was a life-changing experience. You realise there is a whole world out there which doesnt revolve around big houses or fast cars."

The family, who live in Kenilworth in Warwickshire, struggled to get Connor assessed in Birmingham and by the time he had moved to Everton, were forced to make a difficult decision. He told the Echo: "We found it hard to get him statemented, which basically means what level of learning he is going to be at and it can take about a year to come through.

[Lee Carsley was a tough tackling midfielder who shone at Everton - scoring the winner in the 200th Merseyside derby between Everton and Liverpool]

Lee Carsley was a tough tackling midfielder who shone at Everton - scoring the winner in the 200th Merseyside derby between Everton and Liverpool(Image: Press Association)

"After all that to take him out of school and bring him to Liverpool would've meant he had to start again and he was already behind. I spoke to Kevin Kilbane [his former Everton team-mate who has a daughter with down syndrome) and he said the set-up is totally different in the north west. It meant I had to adapt to living apart from my family."

Carsley, whose elder son Callum became a footballer, playing as a defender for Reading United, and later assistant technical director at Birmingham City, has since raised a huge amount of money to support charities related to the condition and is patron of the Solihull Down Syndrome Support Group.

Carsley said: "It makes material things seem unimportant. If you're disabled, cars and houses don't matter. Connor is not severely affected. There are kids in our Solihull group with heart conditions and in wheelchairs."

[Lee Carsley is preparing to take charge of his first England game]

Lee Carsley is preparing to take charge of his first England game(Image: The FA via Getty Images)

The footballer turned coach explained how some of the parents in the group struggled for money. And with speech therapy and physio services limited on the NHS, he helped the group arrange it for all of the children.

Now, managing at international level allows him the best of both worlds - he can succeed in his career and still find enough time to spend with his family. He's already tasted success when he guided the England U21 team to glory in the European Championships, a victory that later saw him linked to the vacant Republic of Ireland job.

After the tournament last summer, Carsley took the trophy that his team won to National League side Solihull Moors, where Connor, now 25, plays for their down syndrome team, so he and his team-mates could see it. "It's good and I'm proud of my dad", said Connor, adding: "My dad is a great manager and coach."

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