An old head still has ambitions of youth

Tom Humphriestalks to Everton's Lee Carsley about Premiership politics and life in a very young Ireland set-up

Befitting an aggressive central midfielder, things seldom seem to stand still in Lee Carsley's life. Restored to the Irish squad after recent differences, he sat in the lower floor of the Irish team hotel yesterday and dealt calmly with Premiership politics. In the wake of this weekend's Merseyside derby, Rafa Benitez was being rebuffed from Portmarnock. His comments on Everton still rankled.

"I thought it was a stupid thing to say, to be honest. I understand that straight after a game, when a camera's pointed straight at you, you're probably a bit frustrated and it hasn't quite sunk in. But once he got home, if he watched the game and he saw some of the chances that we did create, for instance Andy Johnson's chance right at the end, I mean we've done that so many times where we've scored late goals and won 1-0 after not playing particularly well . . . I think he'll realise that he made a mistake.

"I think he couldn't have been watching the first game at Goodison, because we absolutely annihilated them. I read in the programme that they had 22 shots or something, but they didn't score any goals and we scored three, so . . .

"There's no excuse for saying he doesn't speak the language or whatever, he doesn't understand what he's saying or whatever. There was no need to say it."

So there. Goodison inspires loyalty in Carsley perhaps because, in a career which has often been described as being that of a journeyman, he seems to have found a spiritual home where his qualities are appreciated. He concedes that it has been a happy time.

"I've had a few good seasons now at Everton. Obviously the last one I missed a lot of through injury, but the one before that we finished fourth and the last three seasons have probably been the best of my career.

"Put that down to the fact that it makes a difference when you're playing in a team with a lot of confidence. When I was at Coventry they struggled. When I was at Blackburn we struggled, and when that's the case then it's hard to get any sort of run of form yourself, because if players around you are struggling then eventually it's going to rub off on you.

"I got relegated with Blackburn and then left there for Coventry and they got relegated, so it was a double whammy."

The turbulence surrounding Carsley's international career was not a highlight of Steve Staunton's early tenure, but things are calm now and the midfielder is hopeful that the team's fortunes are about to enter a similar period of tranquillity.

"There's still a lot to play for. We've still got a lot of difficult games to play, and hopefully we can build on what we've done already. I think there's going to be a lot of twists and turns in this group.

"It's not a forgone conclusion. We know ourselves how difficult it is to qualify for a competition, and it's still very much in our own hands."

His presence in midfield marks him out distinctly as one of the senior figures in a very young squad. Carsley, famously self-contained and obsessed with his own preparation, has noticed the complexion of those around him.

"Definitely, yeah. There's a lot of young players around. We've only trained once today. You can see that a lot of them are very talented players, but it's important that when they come in they don't feel under pressure to perform. A lot of them still haven't established themselves properly at their clubs and it's up to the likes of Robbie (Keane), Damien (Duff), Kevin (Kilbane) and myself - you know, the older players, to make sure they don't feel the pressure too much."

He stresses the importance of good habits that when the tyros see senior players in a game situation they see things being done correctly. Carsley remembers learning the ropes at international level watching players like Roy Keane and Andy Townsend. He is happy to pass on the knowledge and impressed with the pupils.

"The lads from Reading have been very impressive. (Stephen) Hunt and Shane Long have done really well. It's difficult to play in the Premiership, but to come in and perform the way they have is really impressive.

"What I'd pass on is that I remember my first campaign for the France '98 World Cup, and against Belgium in that play-off, when we'd lost, I went in after that game in Brussels and players like Ray Houghton, Andy Townsend and Cascarino were crying.

"I thought that, well, I've got loads of time yet. I've realised since that you can't take competitions like the World Cup or European Championships for granted. To qualify for any competition is a massive achievement and hopefully these young lads will see that."

Carsley eventually got to Japan and South Korea, but saw no action. This campaign could be the last shot. He is preparing for tomorrow as if San Marino were world beaters.

"It's an away game. The tackles will be flying in. You have to expect anything.

You get 11 players all committed to the one cause and anything can happen."

In his long and winding road of a career, he has learned that much. Time, hopefully, for one last lesson.