KK: England job made for foreigner

Kevin Keegan regrets taking the England manager's job on a full-time basis and believes the position is currently more suited to a foreigner.

The two-time European Footballer of the Year insisted he was handicapped by the lack of English players in the Premier League when he held the position from February 1999 to October 2000 - and that the problem remains today.

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"It saddens me to say it but it's a much better job for a foreigner at the moment," he told BBC Radio Manchester.

"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."

Keegan, who also had managerial spells at Newcastle, Fulham and Man City, admitted he did not enjoy his time as England boss and regretted leaving his post at Fulham to take the job in the first place.

He continued: "I didn't enjoy it. 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," he added.

Since his acrimonious departure there have been three full-time England managers and in Sven-Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello two have been foreign.

However Keegan does not envy them - although he did not completely rule out a return to club management in the future.

The 61-year-old added: "They are not your players, they are loaned from the club. You just wheel them out for a game for England.

"You never say never (about returning to management). You never know do you?"