Judge me on Euro 2000, says Keegan

Kevin Keegan is looking forward to having his squad together in the build-up to Euro 2000

Kevin Keegan believes that we won't see the real England until Euro 2000 kicks off.

The England manager insists that he shouldn't be judged until then as it's impossible for him to make a big enough impression on his players when he only gets to work with them for a couple of days at a time.

It's difficult to give any credit when you get a load of players together on Sunday night, most of whom have played that day

Kevin Keegan

"It's difficult to give any credit when you get a load of players together on Sunday night, most of whom have played that day.

"They just do a warm down on Monday and go back to the hotel. You get up on Tuesday and have to announce the team because you have to work on a few things.

"You do about an hour, but that doesn't want to be too intense because the next night you've got a game.

"I don't care who you are, you can be the best organiser in the world, the best psychologist, but in reality you're throwing people together on a wing and a prayer."

But Keegan believes things will be very different when Euro 2000 kicks off.

By then he'll have had his squad together for some time: "It'll be more like a club for five or six weeks, I think that will suit me better," he says.

Keegan's long build-up begins with a game against Brazil on May 27, then England take on Ukraine and Malta before Euro 2000 starts.

He's confident that in that time he'll be able to turn the players at his disposal into a team to be feared, even if it falls short of being perfect.

"I look at my squad and think I've got a really good one to pick 22 players from.

"We have got an absolute mass of strikers, and really good central defenders. We haven't got a lot of good full backs.

"No one has ever got perfection, I think we have to accept that."