Manchester, England: With finding a job in England harder due to the influx of foreign coaches, Ray Wilkins hopes working abroad can revitalise his career.

The former England midfielder has been hired on a short-term deal by Jordan, seven months after being fired as Fulham assistant manager when Felix Magath took charge with his own coaching staff.

“It’s always extremely difficult when you are out of work in England to be re-employed,” Wilkins said in an interview with The Associated Press on Monday. “We have a lot of foreign coaches that come into our game now. Some are exceptionally good and some aren’t as good.”

For Wilkins, though, working abroad is nothing new, having starred for AC Milan in a 24-year playing career that also included spells at Chelsea and Manchester United.

“It’s a massive challenge,” Wilkins said. “Apprehensive? No. Nervous? No.”

Former Arsenal vice chairman David Dein, who has links across world football, approached Wilkins about the job opening and a deal was reached in Amman with Jordan federation head Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein.

“When you are out of work it’s always very pleasant to get a call,” Wilkins said.

The 57-year-old, who managed both Queens Park Rangers and Fulham in the 1990s, has initially only been tasked with leading Jordan into the Asian Cup in January in Australia. Jordan, who reached the quarter-finals in 2011, have been drawn in a group with Japan, Iraq and Palestine.

Even if he doesn’t get to lead Jordan’s 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign, Wilkins is just glad to be preparing to lead training sessions and enter the dugout again.

“I would love to manage in the Premier League, but at the moment I’m looking for five months of just sheer enjoyment in Jordan, helping the guys as much as we possibly can,” Wilkins said on the sidelines of the SoccerEx conference in Manchester. “If it goes beyond that, all well and good. I’d be delighted.”

The more immediate task for Wilkins, who is being assisted by former Arsenal and Ireland striker Frank Stapleton, is finding an opponent for Jordan to play in a friendly next month.

Jordan are 56th in Fifa’s rankings — the fourth-highest country in the Asian Football Confederation.