Lee Carsley’s chances of returning to Coventry City as head coach appear to have diminished after the FA confirmed he will remain with the England Under-21s.

The former Sky Blues midfielder ended his temporary England spell with a 5-0 win over the Republic of Ireland at Wembley on Sunday evening, a fifth win in six games.

As Thomas Tuchel prepares to take over the national team FA chief executive Mark Bullingham says Carsley still has a ‘vital role’ in developing talent for the senior squad, external.

“Lee will now return to the Under-21 team and continue to play a vital role in supporting the seniors by developing England’s best young players,” he said.

“His leadership and coaching gives us the best possible chance of winning back-to-back U21 Euros next summer and he will continue to play a huge role in the development of elite football across the FA.”

Frank Lampard is the bookies’ favorite to replace Mark Robins with Coventry owner Doug King, who has confirmed he has submitted the former Chelsea and Derby boss’s CV, while former Sky Blues striker Robbie Keane is a distant second in the betting.

Carsley was development coach at Coventry earlier in his career and took over as caretaker boss of the Sky Blues’ first team in February 2013 following the Robins’ departure to Huddersfield, but left for Sheffield United that summer.