STEVE McCLAREN is back in the spotlight tomorrow, and the weather forecast for Derby is wet and windy. But he is unlikely to use a brolly.
“I’ve been through crazy years, mad years, real lows. I’m at a stage now where I should be using the experience gained,” said McClaren.
It is six years since he stood on the touchline at Wembley, rain pelting down, England-branded umbrella up, as if he was on the fifth tee wondering whether to give up and head back to the clubhouse.
His England team lost 3-2 to Croatia, failed to qualify for the European Championship, and McClaren was sacked the next day after 18 games and 16 months.
Yesterday, in his new job at Championship Derby County, McClaren was relaxed, cheerful, confident in himself, as he prepared for the return to football’s big stage and a televised potential giant-killing of Chelsea.
Just like another former England boss, Graham Taylor, who had ‘Turnip’ added to his name following failure, McClaren will have to live with ‘Wally’.
“After England I wanted to get back as soon as possible, to say, ‘What’s next?’ I had to go abroad and I had a challenge to test me in Holland and Germany. Now I’m back,” said McClaren.
Does time heal? “I don’t know – a few years ago it would bother me. I don’t think it does now.
“In the football world I’ve kind of been respected for the work I do. But it’s absolutely right, I made a lot of mistakes.
McClaren, 52, hair receding, but career back on track, has made a big impact at Derby in three months, taking them from 14th to fourth. Until New Year’s Day and a home defeat by Wigan, they were second.
McClaren has been around that block a few times now. He studied the mind-games art first-hand from Sir Alex Ferguson as Manchester United’s assistant manager, the job he left Derby for in 1999. He played for Derby as well. So this is home. Safe harbour. Rebuilding. “Absolutely. I was fortunate, I had very good times at United and then as Middlesbrough manager [where he won the League Cup and got to the UEFA Cup final].
“But football hits you and knocks you down. It’s about coming back here and putting that experience I have into Derby, getting back in the Premier League.
“I wanted the fit to be right. It felt right here as soon as I turned round the corner.” McClaren won the Dutch league with Twente Enschede during his mental rehab, went bigger and failed in Germany with Wolfsburg, failed again at Nottingham Forest, and could not find the gold dust in a second spell with FC Twente. “I made lot of mistakes at Forest,” said McClaren. “It’s interesting watching the parallel with Jose Mourinho.
“I remember going back to Holland and the fans still talking about the championship-winning team for a year and everyone asking why we were not winning the same way.
Without Harry Redknapp it probably would not be happening again for McClaren. He took him as a coach at QPR – rivals now for automatic promotion – and it got him noticed by Derby who, sadly, were looking to end the four-and-a-half-years’ good work Nigel Clough had done. McClaren is asked if Redknapp should have been England’s manager. His head goes back as a smile turns into laughter at recognition of a leading question.
“I’m so grateful to Harry for giving me that opportunity. It was a good initiation back into English football,” he said.