KEVIN KEEGAN: HAMMER OF THE SCOTS WHO IS NOW UP HERE.

LIVERPOOL and England legend's big break came when Bill Shankly took him on and paired him up with John Toshack. His managerial career was as action-packed.

As told to Matthew Lindsay. Kevin Keegan 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1+2 Kop this kid!

THE former Preston North End and Scotland player and manager, Andy Beattie, spotted me playing for Scunthorpe United.

He knew the then Liverpool manager, Bill Shankly, from their days together at Preston. Apparently, he phoned Shanks and told him: "Bill, you've got to see this kid!"

Shanks came to see me in a cup tie in 1971 and I did well so the Scunthorpe chairman, drove me through to Anfield to finalise the transfer.

The ground was being re-developed at that time so I sat on a dustbin in his temporary office waiting for Shanks. When he came in, he looked at me and said: "Have you ever thought about being a boxer, son?"

Shanks was fascinated by boxing. In fact, I'd say it was his first love. I was always strong and stocky. I had to be because of my size. That was the start of a great working relationship.

Shanks was an inspirational character. If he told you to go to hell, you almost looked forward to the trip! In my first week at Liverpool he told me I'd play for England. As soon as he told me that, I knew I would. Right enough, I was capped the next season in a World Cup qualifier against Wales at Ninian Park.

Shanks teamed me up with John Toshack in pre-season and we started scoring goals straight away. Before the start of the season, he came to me on the Friday and asked me: "When do you want to play? Saturday or Sunday? First team or reserves?" I told him: "I've not come here to play in the reserves!" The first picture shows me in a Liverpool strip.

Shanks had everything a coach should have. He was a great motivator. He gave everyone a second chance, but never a third. He had no time for fools. He loved dedication, somebody who worked hard in training.

He also wanted his players to respect the supporters. When he retired as manager, he used to watch Liverpool games along with 26,000 other fans in The Kop. I can remember going over to take a corner once, and everybody was chanting his name and pointing at him.

Shanks was a huge influence on me. Famous footballers tend to attract hangers-on and I was no exception. But early on, he spotted this, took me aside and said: "Don't get involved with those people, don't let them into your head, don't waste your talent." The second picture shows him presenting me with an award later in my career. 3 Give me Moore

SIR Alf Ramsey gave me my first England cap. Some of the 1966 World Cup side were still involved. Bobby Moore was the captain. I had to pinch myself at times. I had to say to myself: "This is where I belong."

This picture shows Bobby and I together at training. We endorsed footballs for the same company for a while. He gave me a great piece of advice at the outset of my career.

He told me: "You're going to get lots of offers, I had three businesses myself. I had a nightclub. Didn't do well with it. I had a leather business. Didn't do well. I had a sports shop next to the West Ham ground. Did well with it. Always stick to what you know."

I've always stuck to football - as I am doing just now with Soccer Circus up here at Xscape at Braehead - and have always done all right. 4 Life was hard

THis picture shows me celebrating a goal for England in a 3-1 victory against Scotland at Wembley in 1979. I picked up the ball in my own half, played a one-two with Trevor Brooking - a truly great player who was always on the same wavelength as me - and shot past George Wood.

The thing I remember most about that goal was running to the crowd - then realising there were no English fans there - the ground was full of Scots! Between 60,000 and 70,000 used to travel down to London for that game every two years.

That game was a big, big deal for the players, too. There were a lot of the Scots boys at English clubs - we had Peter Cormack at Liverpool - and they were always desperate to win. But, during my time, I am pleased to say we usually came out on top.

One opponent who sticks out from my England games against Scotland was the great Celtic defender, Danny McGrain. He was as tough as old boots. If you got past him in a game then you knew you had done very well indeed.

Leeds and Liverpool were the two best clubs in England at that time and there was no love lost between us. Things boiled over in the Charity Shield game at Wembley in 1974. I got involved in a fight with Scotland great, Billy Bremner, and we both got sent off.

Now, I always got on great with Billy off the pitch. I had the utmost respect for him as a player and he was good company over a beer. But he was a fierce competitor on the pitch. That infamous incident was just a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Leeds had some wonderful Scottish players at that time. Eddie Gray was fabulous. I made a point of never going anywhere near him. I knew he was far better than me. Peter Lorimer had the most powerful shot I've ever seen. I never went in a wall if he was taking a free-kick. Bobby Collins was a formidable opponent, a real tough nut.

There were some real hard men in the game, then. There was Ron Harris, Peter Storey, Norman Hunter and Nobby Stiles. These guys would get a yellow card for walking down the tunnel. They were in the team specifically to sort out the good players. We had Tommy Smith in that role at Liverpool.

It was a fact of life you would come up against guys like that. Things have definitely changed for the better now. But it has gone to the opposite extreme. In my day, you would stay on the park with a broken leg. Now, players are writhing around in agony looking for a free-kick and a penalty for the slightest challenge. Timesfile 1951 - Born in Yorkshire. 1967 - Signs for Scunthorpe after being snubbed by home town club Doncaster.

1971 - Snapped up by legendary Liverpool boss Bill Shankly. Wins first of 63 caps for England the next year.

1977 - Helps Liverpool land European Cup. Joins Hamburg.

1979 - Wins European Footballer of the Year for the second year running. Returns to play for Southampton a year later.

1982 - Moves to Newcastle United.

1984 - Hangs up boots.

1992 - Returns to football as Newcastle manager after exile in Spain. 1998 - Takes over as Fulham boss.

1999 - Appointed England manager.

2000 - Quits as national boss.

2001 - Takes over as Manchester City manager. Quits 2005.

2006 - Brains behind Soccer Circus at Xscape in Braehead. 5 Felled by Forest

I WON the European Cup with Liverpool in 1977 and was desperate to repeat the feat with Hamburg in 1980. It was, then, probably the biggest disappointment of my career to lose 1-0 to Nottingham Forest in the final in Madrid.

We had beaten Real Madrid in the semi-final. We lost 2-1 in the Bernabeu in the first leg but thrashed them 5-1 at home. We were more than a match for Forest and played very well in the final. Our problem was being unable to get past Peter Shilton.

John Robertson scored the only goal of the game. As you can see in this picture, there was little I could do about it.

I won the European Player of the Year Award two years running in 1978 and 1979, when I was at Hamburg. That is an individual award that is voted for by the media. I still think the best form of my career came when I was at Liverpool. Winning trophies and playing for England were always more important to me. 6 Rave at the Sky

I FIRST met Sir Alex Ferguson when I played in a pre-season tournament in Aberdeen with Southampton in 1981. I'd heard the Dons were doing well. But we were well beaten 4-1. With Gordon Strachan, Alex McLeish and Willie Miller they had the backbone of a very good side.

When I was manager at Newcastle, his Man United side were our main rivals for the title. I had a famous rant at him live on Sky Sports as the title race hotted up at the end of the 1995/96 season. Alex more or less said that teams try harder against them than us. He has tended, over the years, to instil this belief in his players that it is them against the world.

But it really annoyed me. I felt he was questioning the integrity of football. Contrary to popular belief, we have always got on great and have worked at charity functions together. We did one at a hotel in Anstruther not that long ago and had a great night.

I feel my record in management with Newcastle, Fulham and Man City, against his United teams, stands up to close scrutiny. When I was at Newcastle, we beat them 5-1 and at Man City, we won 4-1 and 3-1. Here, he's giving me a bit of the evil eye, isn't he? 7 London calling

WHEN England played Scotland in the Euro 2000 play-off, both Craig Brown and I tried to make sure everybody realised what a great fixture it was. Craig came to London for a press conference to promote the game. This picture shows us together that day.

We felt, and still do, that the fixture should be restored. It would be more worthwhile for the players, fans and coaches than a lot of the friendlies that are played these days.

Ask any top English and Scottish boss if they would prefer to see the Scotland v England game back or for players to go away for five days playing the likes of Lithuania... it is a no-brainer. 8 No Xscape...

I HAVE been working on the concept behind the Soccer Circus at Braehead for a total of 20 years. I could have taken the youth initiative to a number of venues across Europe, in Holland, Germany or England. But this location, at Xscape in Braehead, ticked all the right boxes. I have had no regrets coming here. The thing has been like a bushfire.