Shambolic reign ends sadly for McClaren

International Soccer:Steve McClaren grinned almost involuntarily through the shortest tenure of any England manager, though, at the last, he had been reduced to a picture of misery.

At 1.16pm yesterday afternoon he shuffled into an outlying conference room at Sopwell House hotel in St Albans, Hertfordshire, and, for 28 minutes, considered the wreckage of his reign. "This is a great job," he muttered. "And it's even better if you can get it right."

History will show that McClaren failed miserably to grasp the role's plus points. English football will only truly come to terms with the repercussions of Croatia's victory at Wembley on Wednesday night when Euro 2008 kicks off in June without the national team, with the now former manager, drained and dejected, clearly still in shock as he faced the media glare for one last time. It was a dignified farewell from a broken man, despite his claims that he would "be back". It was a pity that such dignity was utterly out of keeping when considered in the context of his often shambolic reign.

There was no overt criticism of the players who had effectively cost him his job, the flawed "golden generation", many of whom will no doubt stroll out at Wembley again against Switzerland in February.

McClaren was even reluctant to discuss the wider problems which grip the English game - the number of foreign players squeezing Englishmen out of the top flight and the all pervasive power of the Premier League - although this was still an admission of guilt.

The call had come at 9.30am yesterday morning, Brian Barwick telephoning the manager he had been instrumental in appointing with confirmation that his contract was to be terminated. "I wouldn't say I was shocked," said McClaren. "There was huge disappointment, and a feeling of having let the fans and the whole country down. I really thought we'd get the result against Croatia, that we were ready for that game. But I have to accept the decision.

"I believed I was up to the job when I was appointed 18 months ago, the proudest day of my career. I still believe I am now, but it's not in my control. This is the saddest moment. You're judged by results, that's all. You live and die by them.

"Qualification. I said, 'Judge me on that'. Everybody has. I can understand the criticism, the reaction. It hurts me, disappoints me. But I'll be stronger in the future. Ultimately, I'll not be given another chance."

The trademark nervous laugh only surfaced once, in response to a question asking whether or not he was concerned at his players' inability to retain possession against the pinpoint Croats. "I worried more about our defending," he offered through a resigned chuckle. "We're usually so strong in that department. The first thing you have to do in a football match is defend, and we didn't. But I won't criticise the players. They'll get enough of that. As it is, my time has gone."

So pained was his expression as he uttered that last phrase that even a £2.5 million (€3.5 million) pay-off momentarily appeared little consolation. He is, he claimed, a "better manager" now than he was when he arrived. He must have learned from the fiasco of his team selections in each game against Croatia, and from his delay in replacing the error-prone Paul Robinson until the final group game, a decision which dropped the inexperienced Scott Carson into a testing competitive debut.

Similarly, he may wonder at his inability to retain the enthusiasm of such a valuable player as Jamie Carragher. Or whether standing under an umbrella with a cup of coffee in hand as his side sank without trace in the mud was the best image to promote.

"I'll take a breather, reflect, then look to my next challenge," he added. "Did we finish where we deserved to finish? That's where we are. Third in the group. You deserve to be where you finish."

And with that, at 1.44pm, he was gone.

Meanwhile, England's dismal failure against Croatia is set to cost them a place among the top seeds in Sunday's draw for the 2010 World Cup qualifying competition. FIFA will today announce their world rankings on which the seeding for the draw will be based, and although England will not suffer the indignity of being overtaken by Scotland they are certain to miss out on being one of the top nine countries in Europe.

It means the first task of McClaren's successor will be that much tougher. England would have been among the nine top seeds in the European qualifying group had they drawn with Croatia but the defeat at Wembley is set to see them drop from their world ranking position of 11th and be overtaken by Greece.

The fall comes despite England gaining some ranking points from their victory over Austria last week - the fact it was a friendly means the points gained were far fewer than those won by Greece.

England's plummet down FIFA's rankings has been dramatic. According to the complicated formula used by FIFA to calculate the standings, had they managed to beat Russia in Moscow last month and not lose to Croatia they would have been in the top five in the world.

One man who might be secretly pleased by England's failure to qualify for Euro 2008 is Trevor Brooking. The FA's director of football development has found his proposals to change the academy system in a bid to bring through more top-class English players has foundered on opposition from the clubs.

England's failure and the soul-searching that will follow means Brooking can now argue his case backed up by the real concern that there are not enough domestic players making the grade at the top.