Keegan lied to wife about job after meeting at fairground before secret wedding

05 October 2023 , 17:58

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Keegan and his wife Jean will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary next year (Image: Press Association)

Former England boss Kevin Keegan has found himself in hot water after his comments on female pundits working on men's football.

Keegan, who managed England between February 1999 to October 2000, criticised the decision to let 'lady footballers' comment on Three Lions matches, insisting: "I don't think it is quite the same."

The 72-year-old has disappeared from TV screens in recent years and is currently on a speaking tour where he made the comments, in front of a small audience in Bristol.

It is a far cry from when Keegan was at the peak of his powers as a player in the 1970s and 80s, winning a host of individual and collective honours during spells with Liverpool, Hamburg and Newcastle.

Keegan started out at Scunthorpe United and was making his way in the game but not everybody was impressed, particularly his wife Jean after the pair met at Doncaster fair in 1970.

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The then-teenager approached Jean, who was still at school at the time, but knew he could not live up to her crush, Manchester United and Northern Ireland superstar George Best.

Instead, Keegan chose to lie about his job, revealing: "I said that I worked at the steelworks. Telling them I was a footballer would have sounded too flash, even though I was an unknown playing for a small club."

Keegan has been criticised for his comments on female pundits

Keegan managed to win Jean over and the couple moved to Liverpool after his £35,000 switch to Anfield under Bill Shankly. They became engaged and married in September 1974, but kept things under wraps.

Keegan says: "It was only after I appeared on Match Of The Day that people began to recognise me. It came as a big surprise. We were married in secrecy. Only our families were there. We didn't want such an important day being made a circus."

They had two daughters together, Jane and Anne-Marie, with Keegan turning his hand at management following his retirement. He had spells in charge of Newcastle and Fulham before landing the dream job with England.

After narrowly qualifying through the play-offs for Euro 2000, the Three Lions exited in the group stage and Keegan soon resigned after a defeat in the first World Cup qualifier to Germany.

Keegan returned to club management with Manchester City and had a brief spell back at Newcastle in 2008. Since then, he has maintained a keen interest in horse racing and did work as a pundit for various TV channels.

Liam Prenderville