Kevin Keegan will accept the England manager’s job if he is offered it, according to the Sunday papers.
The Fulham boss has publicly ruled himself out of the running to succeed Glenn Hoddle out of loyalty to Mohamed Al-Fayed and his current employers but the Sunday Mirror has an exclusive this morning claiming that Keegan has told senior players at Craven Cottage that he wants to move into international management.
The tabloid quotes ‘a senior Fulham player’ as saying: “He is desperate for the job and is just trying to be diplomatic. Do you think he would turn it down if it was offered? Of course not. It is the one job he has always wanted.”
The Football Association’s chief executive David Davies refused to be drawn on the identity of the FA’s preferred target to take over from Howard Wilkinson. Keegan is known to be on the shortlist to succeed Wilkinson, who has been placed in temporary charge until the summer, and the Sunday Mirror reports that England’s record goalscorer Gary Lineker has privately urged the Fulham manager to take charge.
After Sir Alex Ferguson ruled himself out of the running and with Euro ’96 coach Terry Venables deemed unsuitable as he faces further court proceedings, the Leicester City manager Martin O’Neill is considered to have an outside chance of landing the position but only if Keegan, the favourite with the bookies and England’s current set-up, resists overtures from the FA to remain with Fulham.
