‘The fans were horrendous’ – Kevin Keegan reveals he wishes he had never taken England job

Kevin Keegan(Getty Images)

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Former England manager Kevin Keegan has admitted he regrets leaving Fulham and taking the national job, claiming he did not enjoy his time in charge of the Three Lions.

Keegan’s tenure was not a successful one and ended with him resigning after defeat to Germany in the last ever match at the old Wembley.

With more than a decade having passed since his resignation, Keegan has admitted that he regrets leaving his job at Fulham to go and manage the national team.

“I didn’t enjoy it,” he told BBC Radio Manchester.

“The fans were horrendous when I was walking off after the Germany game – fair enough. I was disappointed and thought ‘they got me the job, it’s time to go’.

“I suppose if I had my time again I would refuse it and stay at Fulham because I thoroughly enjoyed my time there, and secondly I would have taken it on my own terms.”

A former England player himself, who scored 21 times in 63 matches for his country, Keegan is most famously remembered for his rant at Sir Alex Ferguson in 1996 when his Newcastle side squandered a 12 point lead to allow Manchester United to win the title.

His domestic managerial career, apart from at Fulham, also saw him work at Manchester City, before a less successful second stint at St James’ Park.

Since leaving the England post, two of the following three managers have been foreigners – Sven-Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello – a formula which Keegan believes should be continued after the Italian boss leaves at the end of Euro 2012.

He added: “It saddens me to say it but it’s a much better job for a foreigner at the moment.

“I was England manager and was sat with Aime Jacquet France manager at the time watching an Arsenal match. He had 13 players playing and six on the bench, I had one player.

“But there was not an English player playing abroad and the odds were stacked against the England manager then and still are to a degree.”