Middlesbrough No1 Fan
08-02-2007, 18:13
McClaren warns uninspired England
England boss Steve McClaren
England have not won under McClaren in four games
England boss Steve McClaren has vowed to reprimand his under-performing stars after their 1-0 defeat to Spain.
The team produced another uninspiring display under McClaren as they lost at Old Trafford and were booed off by unhappy fans.
"There were a few performances which weren't up to their usual standards," said McClaren.
"That is the disappointing aspect of this performance. The players know that and it will be made clear."
McClaren admitted England were poor in attack with striker Peter Crouch and right winger Shaun Wright-Phillips, in particular, struggling.
Nobody is blind to the fact we lacked that final pass and cross and finish
Midfielder Frank Lampard also failed to stamp his mark on the game with England having now failed to win in their last four games.
"I don't feel the players are letting me down," added McClaren.
"The attitude and effort was there. It was the quality we lacked, especially in the final third.
"Nobody is blind to the fact we lacked that final pass and cross and finish. That is what wins you football matches."
The display follows on from England's failure at the World Cup before McClaren took over from former boss Sven-Goran Eriksson.
But he has failed to improve the team's fortunes as they have got off to a stuttering start to their Euro 2008 qualifying campaign.
They are third Group E and face two crucial qualifiers away to Israel and Andorra next month and McClaren insists having some of his key players back will help.
"It was always going to be a tough game against Spain with all the players we had missing but I learned quite a bit about a few that came back," he said.
"We were missing half a squad. We were without the likes of Owen Hargreaves, Wayne Rooney and John Terry - they're big players that can win you big games.
"We don't like to lose but the key is building towards the game with Israel.
Injuries are always disruptive but we don't want to make excuses - we should have played better
"It's very difficult in a friendly when you have to make changes. I was really looking at individuals and how they adapt.
"But it is difficult to get any cohesion you could see that.
Steven Gerrard, who has now lost both games in which he has captained his country, bemoaned England's failure to gain some confidence before March's testing trip to Israel.
"Injuries are always disruptive but we don't want to make excuses, we should have played better," he said.
"We started very well. For the first 15 minutes we were on top, but we didn't score and it's always difficult if you don't score when you're on top.
"If we'd scored that would have given us a real confidence boost."
But the Liverpool midfielder remained upbeat about the squad's chances of beating Israel before travelling to Spain to play Andorra in Barcelona.
"We're looking forward to those qualifiers," he added.
"We'll be confident we can get two good results. We want two massive performances and I'm confident we can produce."
God boro fans, isnt watching england just like watching boro for the past few seasons... Mclaren aint going ot do anything good for england...
England boss Steve McClaren
England have not won under McClaren in four games
England boss Steve McClaren has vowed to reprimand his under-performing stars after their 1-0 defeat to Spain.
The team produced another uninspiring display under McClaren as they lost at Old Trafford and were booed off by unhappy fans.
"There were a few performances which weren't up to their usual standards," said McClaren.
"That is the disappointing aspect of this performance. The players know that and it will be made clear."
McClaren admitted England were poor in attack with striker Peter Crouch and right winger Shaun Wright-Phillips, in particular, struggling.
Nobody is blind to the fact we lacked that final pass and cross and finish
Midfielder Frank Lampard also failed to stamp his mark on the game with England having now failed to win in their last four games.
"I don't feel the players are letting me down," added McClaren.
"The attitude and effort was there. It was the quality we lacked, especially in the final third.
"Nobody is blind to the fact we lacked that final pass and cross and finish. That is what wins you football matches."
The display follows on from England's failure at the World Cup before McClaren took over from former boss Sven-Goran Eriksson.
But he has failed to improve the team's fortunes as they have got off to a stuttering start to their Euro 2008 qualifying campaign.
They are third Group E and face two crucial qualifiers away to Israel and Andorra next month and McClaren insists having some of his key players back will help.
"It was always going to be a tough game against Spain with all the players we had missing but I learned quite a bit about a few that came back," he said.
"We were missing half a squad. We were without the likes of Owen Hargreaves, Wayne Rooney and John Terry - they're big players that can win you big games.
"We don't like to lose but the key is building towards the game with Israel.
Injuries are always disruptive but we don't want to make excuses - we should have played better
"It's very difficult in a friendly when you have to make changes. I was really looking at individuals and how they adapt.
"But it is difficult to get any cohesion you could see that.
Steven Gerrard, who has now lost both games in which he has captained his country, bemoaned England's failure to gain some confidence before March's testing trip to Israel.
"Injuries are always disruptive but we don't want to make excuses, we should have played better," he said.
"We started very well. For the first 15 minutes we were on top, but we didn't score and it's always difficult if you don't score when you're on top.
"If we'd scored that would have given us a real confidence boost."
But the Liverpool midfielder remained upbeat about the squad's chances of beating Israel before travelling to Spain to play Andorra in Barcelona.
"We're looking forward to those qualifiers," he added.
"We'll be confident we can get two good results. We want two massive performances and I'm confident we can produce."
God boro fans, isnt watching england just like watching boro for the past few seasons... Mclaren aint going ot do anything good for england...