England great Ashley Cole will serve as assistant during Lee Carsley’s spell as interim manager of the national team. Carsley stepped up from his role as Under-21s manager to replace Gareth Southgate who quit as manager of the senior team following the European Championship in Germany this summer. His first senior match in charge comes against the Republic of Ireland, who Carsley represented as a player, in the Nations League in Dublin on 7 September before England welcome Finland to Wembley three days later. The Football Association has confirmed Cole, who won 107 caps for his country, will assist Carsley during his time overseeing the senior side. Cole has worked alongside Carsley at Under-21 level having also coached at Derby, Chelsea, Everton and Birmingham, and will be joined in the backroom setup by Joleon Lescott, another former England international, and the FA’s head of coaching, Tim Dittmer. Two members of Southgate’s backroom staff, Martyn Margetson and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, have left the England setup, following in the footsteps of Southgate’s assistant, Steve Holland. Meanwhile, Paul Nevin has taken charge of England’s Elite League Squad on an interim basis as Ben Futcher steps up to Under-21s manager in Carsley’s absence.