Heart failure for Keegan

I AM just not the man for the job. I have not been quite good enough". The words, delivered with that familiar aching emotion, echoed hollow and heavy around Wembley. Kevin Keegan listened to his heart and it told him he should not be England manager.

Eighteen months ago it was his heart that told him that this was the job that was made to him. After the shock of Saturday, there suddenly seems less surprise come Sunday. Hindsight is a luxury, but it wasn't needed in this case. The track record says it all.

The timing may be bizarre, but then the timing is all Keegan, as it always has been. "I have always been a man who knows when to go," he explained last night. He has made a habit of emotional farewells and fraught departures.

The death of his mother last week may well have stirred the volatile mix which is this charismatic and confusing character. But the Football Association should have known what they were getting themselves into last February, when they invited the former Liverpool legend to rebuild the national team following the shambles of Glenn Hoddle's resignation.

A sackload of emotion baggage comes with this arch-motivator and enthusiast as a host of former chairman and teammates can testify.

Two games into his temporary tenure last year, Keegan was asked why he had wanted to make the arrangement a permanent one. "Having done it for two games, I really feel I belong here. I listened to my heart."

Buoyed by the emotions of leading England out at Wembley against Poland in a crucial European qualifying game last summer, Keegan believed anything and everything was possible.

Even after squeaking past Scotland to secure a place in Euro 2000, the manager still believed his team could go out and beat the best in Europe. It was an illusion quickly shattered The same stadium yesterday and an emotional about-turn. Germany, perhaps unsurprisingly, were the latest nation to burst the bubble. But the rot may have already set in before kick-off. It seems the manager was already doubting himself before his players took to the park for Wembley swansong. Ninety minutes later his mind was made up.

Mighty Mouse, as he was known during his time at Hamburg, has apparently squeaked his last. He has said he now looks forward to "a life outside football". There will be some who more his departure, but there will also be many crocodile tears.

Terry Butcher, an ex-England captain, had the honesty to avoid the platitudes and point out the obvious pitfalls which had befallen England and their erstwhile manager.

"It was a difficult game, but that is your job as England manager. You have to overcome hurdles. He just didn't pick a team to win the match."

"There was not that belief among the players today and perhaps Kevin didn't prepare the team in the way he should have. If there was doubt in his mind, it might have come through to the players."

Others towed the party line. Keegan's emotional departure reflected the man, and that passion was what made people warm to him - even if his damaging departure reflected the downside of that same character trait.

Adam Crozier, the Scot who is chief executive of the FA, appeared as if he still wanted to throw a metaphorical arm around his manager's shoulder, even if his resignation has left England in the lurch just days before another vital World Cup qualifier against Finland.

"I think Kevin has been a terrific manager. He came in at a hard time after Hoddle's departure and he has built a close-knit group of players. I respect him as a person and as a manager."

Now Crozier and his officials must find a successor. One wonders whether they have had their fingers burned sufficiently to choose head over heart. Keegan was an instinctive choice. Now logic dictates a more analytical approach.

Perhaps a foreign manager, in the shape of Arsene Wenger or Marcello Lippi. Or an experienced, more phlegmatic character like Roy Hodgson. Those decisions will have to wait until after Wednesday's match.

Crozier will rule nothing in or nothing out. Howard Wilkinson, the FA's technical director will assume temporary control of the squad in Finland. Then the hunt for a real answer to England's problems will begin.

Crozier, who said he "tried everything" to make Keegan change his mind, wasn't in a position to offer a cool perspective last night. Like many of those who have been captivated by Keegan, he was still trying to come to terms with his own personal shock. And how the nation would deal with it.

"I'm very disappointed for Kevin and for the country. He showed great dignity at all times and it is disappointing that he does not want to carry on, although I understand his reasons. I felt Kevin felt things were not going right for him. He said he could not get as much out of the players as he would like."

Yet getting performances out of players was exactly what Keegan was brought in for. His tactical acumen has been rightly criticised, but in the end it seems even his motivational powers were dimmed when he lost his spark for the job.