Kevin Keegan's normally breezy mood became a mite blustery yesterday as he began preparations for Saturday's friendly against the world and European champions France in Paris with injuries gnawing at his squad and the critics more querulous than ever after England's doleful showing in Euro 2000.

The England coach called Alan Smith, the 19-year-old Leeds United forward, into the squad after losing four players - Rio Ferdinand, Gary Neville, Emile Heskey and Steven Gerrard - through injury. Moreover Steve McManaman has flu and Andy Cole and Kevin Phillips did not train yesterday; Cole has a sore Achilles tendon but should be available, Phillips is more doubtful with a shoulder problem.

Only Michael Owen of the original strikers is fully fit but Smith will only come seriously into consideration for selection if Cole and Phillips drop out. Keegan has been impressed by Smith. "He's very exciting but in a different way to Michael Owen," the England coach said yesterday. "I think that, like Owen, he's found scoring not too difficult at the start of the season." The likelihood is that Keegan will pair Owen and Cole up front in the Stade de France on Saturday night as he seeks a new scoring combination after Alan Shearer's retirement from international football.

Keegan is thinking of using Darren Anderton wide on the right and moving David Beckham inside, where he would have a better chance of exploiting Owen's speed with accurate passes. "The thing you need with David Beckham, whether he plays wide or central but certainly if he plays central, is an option to find people with the sort of ball he gave Ryan Giggs at West Ham on Saturday when Andy Cole scored Manchester United's second goal," he said.

As for Keegan, well Johnny Giles, the former Manchester United, Leeds and Republic of Ireland player, has rightly pointed out in his newspaper column that the cheerleading pre-Euro 2000 can hardly be recycled. Giles also thinks the England coach should have resigned by now. "The opinions of ex-players and people who've played and managed at the highest level, if it is damning, hurts more than criticism from people who are outsiders looking in," Keegan conceded. "For me success is winning something, it always has been.