End of the road for Keegan

“I have no complaints. Absolutely no-one is to blame but myself. I did it to be the best of my ability. I am not the man to take it that stage further. I have to be true to myself.”

He added: “Kevin Keegan has given it his best shot.”

“I have probably have had a longer run than expected. A lot of coaches who did a lot better than me in Euro 2000 went. I could not have asked for more effort from my players. I have kept them together.”

Asked who made the decision, Keegan said: “It was 100 percent me. I have always been a man who knows when to go. I do not want to outstay my welcome.

“Hopefully all my staff will stay on all the players apart maybe from David Beckham will be fit. They have got Howard Wilkinson who has been very supportive.”

Meanwhile, amid a myriad of other names from home and abroad British bookies have installed Terry Venables as their 4-1 favourite to succeed Keegan.

William Hill on Sunday put former incumbent Venables, who stepped down after Euro 96, ahead of Leicester boss Peter Taylor, who is at 6-1.

Next comes Aston Villa chief John Gregory at 7-1, with Middlesbrough boss Bryan Robson (8-1) and Peter Reid of Sunderland (10-1).

Should the FA elect to go down the untried route of appointing a foreigner, Arsenal’s Arsene Wenger could be worth a 12-1 shot.

Sacked Inter Milan coach Marcello Lippi is another non-home grown candidate at 14-1, while Charlton coach Alan Curbishley, as English as they come, has the same odds.

Then comes Irishman David O’Leary of Leeds at 16-1, Manchester United’s Scottish coach Alex Ferguson at 20-1 and Englishman Harry Redknapp of West Ham at 25-1.

Former England bosses Glenn Hoddle, Bobby Robson and Graham Taylor are rated 40-1, 50-1 and 100-1 respectively.