McClaren upbeat ahead of Spanish inquisition
MANCHESTER, England: Luis Aragones has told his bosses at the Spanish soccer federation that they can sack him if his side get beaten by England in Wednesday's friendly at Old Trafford.
It is a safe bet that there will be no such pre-match bluster from Steve McClaren: England's head coach is under enough pressure as it is.
With England trailing Croatia and Russia in their Euro 2008 qualifying group and next month's testing trip to Israel looming, McClaren could do with the boost to morale and his own reputation that would ensue from victory over a star-studded Spanish squad.
McClaren's job is not on the line yet. But there is no doubt that a degree of disquiet over whether he is up to the job of leading England to success in a major championships is rumbling away in the background.
The tactically inept performance that resulted in a 2-0 defeat in Croatia in October remains the main plank of the sceptics' case.
But the head coach's image has also not been helped by recent public criticism from two of his former Middlesbrough players, Danny Mills and Massimo Maccarone, who both volunteered the term 'two-faced' to describe their former boss's man-management style.
His tetchy performances in front of the media would suggest otherwise, but McClaren professes to be unfazed by criticism of his performance since he took over from Sven-Goran Eriksson in the wake of England's disappointing early exit from last year's World Cup finals.
"My position is no different to any other manager," he said. "You win a game and you're great, you lose one and you can't manage anything. It is no different at international level."
Predictably, some of the current squad have rallied to the coach's defence, although midfielder Steven Gerrard, who is set to serve as a stand-in captain on Wednesday, admits everyone connected with England has something to prove.
"We know we have a big job on our hands. It's always the case with England because there is a lot of expectation," said Gerrard.
"What I would say is give the new coaching staff and manager a chance. We have only played five or six games together under the new coach so for them to get the team playing better and get us playing as a unit it will take a little longer.
"But I'm still confident we can top the qualifying group. There's still a belief in the dressing room that we can go and win all the remaining games."
McClaren's ability to adapt to circumstances will be tested on Wednesday with usual captain John Terry set to sit out the match as he has only just resumed playing for Chelsea after six weeks out following back surgery.
Jonathan Woodgate, back in the England fold for the first time in three injury-ravaged years, is favourite to start in his place.
McClaren must also find a new combination in attack as he is without Joe Cole, England's best player by some distance in their last match, a 1-1 friendly draw with Holland in Amsterdam in November.
Wayne Rooney has at least been able to join up with the squad after a speedy recovery from a back injury suffered in Manchester United's win over Tottenham at the weekend.
But Everton striker Andrew Johnson, who also started in Amsterdam, has only one match under his belt since coming back from an ankle injury, which could ensure a fresh start for Peter Crouch.
England's last meeting with Spain, a 1-0 defeat at Real Madrid's Bernabeu stadium in November 2004, is remembered principally for the racist abuse large sections of the crowds hurled at the black players in the visiting team.
But Gerrard has not forgotten the lesson in passing and movement that Spain delivered that night.
The midfielder winces visibly at the memory of being "passed off the pitch" in Madrid and the prospect of facing his Spanish team-mates Xabi Alonso and Jose Reina at Liverpool's Melwood training ground on Thursday morning means it it is not an experience he is keen to relive.
"What I learned from that night was that you can't give quality players time on a football pitch, because if you do they will hurt you," Gerrard said.
"So we need to get really close to them, give them the English style of football and rough them up a bit. And hopefully get a better result than we did at the Bernabeu because they beat us comfortably that night."
AFP
(China Daily 02/07/2007 page23)
