The Football Association has not yet formally interviewed any of the leading candidates to become the next permanent England manager – more than two months after the closing date for applications.

It will prompt questions over the process to appoint Gareth Southgate’s permanent successor, which the FA insists is robust, ongoing and must remain confidential.

The FA is not giving any updates on their progress, or lack of, in appointing a new manager while Lee Carsley is in charge as interim head coach. Telegraph Sport has been told that none of the external favourites have been formally interviewed.

Eddie Howe, Graham Potter and Thomas Tuchel have all been heavily linked with the job, with Potter and Tuchel currently out of work and seemingly free to be interviewed.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola remains a dream long-term candidate, with some believing the FA would be prepared to wait for the Spaniard if he gave it any encouragement.

But while some candidates have been sounded out, either directly or indirectly, and checks have been made on individuals, it is claimed that formal interviews have not yet taken place. This is despite the fact that the FA’s closing date for applications was August 2.

Governing body accused of dragging feet

That will only harden theories that the FA have been hoping to promote Carsley and that prospect is not yet thought to be off the table, despite Thursday night’s shambolic defeat by Greece at Wembley.

Carsley insisted after the game that he never viewed the permanent job as his to lose, while the FA has never veered from the fact he has been given three international breaks as interim head coach.

That plan has not changed and the FA is not thought to be reading anything into Carsley’s post-Greece comments that he is hopeful of returning to the Under-21s once his initial period as interim head coach is over.

It is expected that the FA do plan to interview several candidates before making a final decision, but a source with knowledge of the process accused the governing body of dragging their feet.

The source told Telegraph Sport: “We keep hearing about a process, but what’s actually happening? Why has nobody been interviewed? What have the FA been doing for the past two months? They will hide behind the fact it’s confidential, but they haven’t formally interviewed anybody of any note.”

The FA believes that in appointing Carsley as interim head coach for the autumn, it has effectively laid out its timeline without having to provide public updates.

FA chief executive Mark Bullingham and technical director John McDermott are in charge of identifying the preferred candidate to succeed Southgate full-time and the source added: “What are their qualifications to appoint the manager? Do they even know how to?”

McDermott role questioned

McDermott has been a more visible presence around the England camp since the summer, with Carsley admitting publicly that he is being “highly supported” by the former Tottenham Hotspur academy manager.

But that influence, which extends to watching training, has been met with suspicion by some around the England camp who believe his methods are old fashioned and that he lacks the track record to be effectively placed in charge of picking the best man for the permanent job.

The FA is understood to be using a data company to help it identify and study candidates, which it is said will complement the interview process once it begins.

In the meantime, Carsley has admitted that he will go back to basics in a bid to get England back on track following the horror show against Greece.

At Wembley he squeezed Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden, Bukayo Saka, Anthony Gordon and Cole Palmer into the team and started without a recognised striker.

Carsley is sweating on the fitness of captain Harry Kane, who he hoped would come through training on Friday, but the manager confirmed he was unlikely to stick with his Greece experiment against Finland in Helsinki.

Asked if he will do the same thing on Sunday, Carsley said: “[I] probably won’t try that again on Sunday, I have coached enough to know we need to do something different. Had Harry been fit I might have gone down another route.”

On Kane’s potential availability, Carsley added: “We are going to assess him, he is training [Friday] with us. He has scored a lot of goals. I’ve done three games and he has scored two goals, so he is a massive part of what we do.”

Carsley insisted that the Greece game had not changed his own situation, but he refused to answer whether he definitely wants the permanent job. He did, however, acknowledge that public opinion may have turned against him, at least for now, and believes he can cope with that.

“I am old enough to know it is a game of football,” said Carsley. “We have lost a game of football, we are forgetting that Greece were OK, they weren’t here just to lie down. Never too high, never too low.”

Arsenal star Bukayo Saka is a doubt for England’s game against Finland after being forced off in the defeat by Greece with what appeared to be a hamstring problem.