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John McBeth, the Scot who will take over Britain's FIFA vice-presidency, believes he got the job because of hatred for England and has accused African associations of corruption and greed.

McBeth will step down from his role as Scottish Football Association president on Friday to take over from compatriot David Will.

But he claims he won the role in opposition to Football Association chairman Geoff Thompson and the Irish FA's Jim Boyce because of resentment over English arrogance.

"I said when I came back that I was the least not-liked," McBeth said.

"I went down there and I was on the plane thinking, 'What in God's name am I going to London for?' We had it for 17 years with David Will, so it won't be a Scot again. The 2 men touting were Geoff Thompson of England and Jim Boyce of Northern Ireland. They were going for it. Jim was saying what he'd do for Northern Ireland, others were saying it was England's turn. Unfortunately when you deal with the English it tends to be 'their game' and they tend to expect. To put it mildly they made a mess of it and I wandered through the middle. It's a very funny story."

McBeth added: "I'll have to be much kinder to the English. I try to keep telling them that their notion of themselves is unbelievable. The rest of the world hates their guts."

McBeth will move into his office at FIFA's Zurich headquarters with the intention of tackling corruption in the world game.

But he may have made some enemies already after describing new boss Sepp Blatter as a "tricky customer" and claiming "poor nations" in Africa have different ethics from the British "fair play" attitude.

McBeth said: "I know 2 or 3 whom I'd want to count my fingers after shaking hands with them. If I come across corruption I have to expose it. I must try to stay true to my beliefs and hope I don't get seduced."

McBeth has known FIFA president Blatter for 10 years.

The former Clyde chairman said: "He's a tricky customer but I suppose anyone in that position has to be because you're dealing with people who have a totally different code of ethics. David Will had a go at Blatter and was one of the few who survived it. I'm not sure if that was because of the position he held."

McBeth is also wary of CONCACAF president Jack Warner, from Trinidad & Tobago, who wants the British nations to be stripped of their right to occupy the vice-president role.

"To a certain extent I can understand what he's saying it's the old British empire stuff," McBeth said.

"The British have an attitude of fair play but sometimes the Empire didn't play fair and that's coming back on us. For the ones that were under the Empire it's payback time. By and large the 4 British countries know what fair play is and when we're stepping out of line. But as soon as you hit Africa it's a slightly different kettle of fish. They're poor nations and want to grab what they can. I presume the Caribbean is much the same they just come at it in a different way."