McClaren joins the fast lane

McClaren: Will be assisting Peter Taylor for the Italy game

Sport Online profiles Steve McClaren after he was appointed as part of England's new backroom staff.

Peter Taylor's revolution will be assisted by Manchester United assistant Steve McClaren after he was appointed as part of the England backroom staff.

McClaren, who has been a resounding success since he stepped into Brian Kidd's shoes at Old Trafford, is regarded as one of the top coaches in England.

McClaren: Regarded as one of the top coaches in England

The FA admitted they wanted to create a "Team England" hierachy which will see the cream of top English coaches groomed to succeed Taylor and whoever is appointed as full-time manager, and McClaren certainly fits the bill.

With the 39-year-old waiting in the wings to succeed Taylor and company, it will enable the FA to avoid another embarrassing interregnum next time the hotseat becomes available.

McClaren enjoyed a moderately successful playing career at Hull City, Derby County, Bristol City and Oxford United, but appears to have found his most effective role in the game since switching to the training ground.

Mentality

His strategies, which he developed at Derby and has finely tuned since arriving at Old Trafford by Ferguson, are based on a 'we' not a 'me' mentality.

Football runs through his veins to such an extent that his post-match video scrutiny session would make even Alan Hansen look like a fair weather analyst.

McClaren is the thinking man's coach, and doubtless his relationship with David Beckham, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt and the two Neville's will blossom ahead of the clash with Italy in Turin on 15 November.

If his arrival into the England fold brings nothing else, Football Association chiefs will be hoping McClaren brings with him a similar run of early success.

Likeable

Though the likeable Yorkshireman had already created a favourable impression in coaching circles, he was still largely an unknown quantity when Sir Alex Ferguson poached him from Derby to become his assistant at Old Trafford.

It says much for McClaren that the star-studded Manchester United squad warmed to him immediately.

McClaren's introduction to life at the best supported club in the world was an instant success story.

His first game in February 1999 was the 8-1 hammering of Nottingham Forest at the City Ground, part of a 33-match unbeaten run to the end of the season which earned United an unprecedented Treble.

Excluding Charity Shield and Super Cup setbacks the following season, it was October 1999 and the 5-0 hammering by Chelsea at Stamford Bridge before McClaren experienced the bitter taste of defeat.

During that time, he even astounded Ferguson, whose search for Kidd's replacement had been exhaustive.

"We needed someone with the right credentials and we kept coming back to Steve," admitted Ferguson.

"When I checked him out I knew he was the right man and I was delighted with how swiftly he stamped his personality on the job.

Impressed

"He has deeply impressed me and I expect him to go on to great things," he added.

There is little he doesn't know about the technical aspects of the game, even though his own playing career was relatively modest.

One of his greatest success was helping Hull win promotion from the old Division Three alongside Brian Marwood in 1983.

That success helped to earn him a move to Derby, although injury ensured he never reached the standards he hoped at the Baseball Ground.

After McClaren had flitted around the lower leagues, Jim Smith brought him back to Derby as first team coach in 1995 and the pair immediately took the Rams back into the top flight, where they have remained, perilously, ever since.