Kevin Keegan believes Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp should avoid becoming England manager.
Former England boss discourages job link and hits out at the press
Kevin Keegan believes Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp should avoid becoming England manager, should the opportunity arise.
Keegan, who last week branded the job 'soulless', reiterated the dissatisfaction he took from managing his nation between 1999 and 2000.
With current boss Fabio Capello due to step down after the European Championships next year, the Football Association are weighing up options for his replacement.
FA chairman David Bernstein's preferred choice is an Englishman, putting Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp at the forefront, but Keegan has delivered him a warning.
"I didn't enjoy it, simple as that," Keegan told
The Daily Mail.
"If Harry Redknapp phoned me up and asked me what I thought about him taking it, I'd say, 'Don't take it unless you want a lot of free time'. I really would."
Keegan claims the media play a huge role in job satisfaction when in charge of England, highlighting the contrast between Terry Venables' reign from 1994-1996 and his own.
Media criticism
Referring to the media, Keegan said: 'When you're England manager, it's like being Prime Minister. They are trying to get a certain answer out of you.
"The media are the media. The one who had the easiest ride was Terry Venables, because they were all his friends.
"I never had one friend in the press. Nobody was getting inside information from me. I don't have that sort of relationship with any press guy.
"That's because I don't trust the press. Some of the guys are OK. But if they ask me something off the record, I won't tell them anything. There is no such thing as 'off the record'. If there was, why would they ask?
"I've worked with them all. I've worked with some of them since they were young lads, so I probably know more about them than they do about me. But trust them? No.
"I don't need a press man to do me a favour. That's where I am in the game.
"It's annoyed some of them. I know how the press work: they've written the story and they just want you to give them the headline."
