STEVE McCLAREN was installed as Newcastle United’s new head coach this week, and The Northern Echo Sport team have spoken to some of the people who have worked with the Yorkshireman throughout his career

Denis Smith was the Oxford United manager who gave McClaren his first senior job in coaching in 1993. Having started as reserve-team coach following his retirement from playing, McClaren was quickly integrated into the first-team set-up

The Northern Echo:

“I brought Malcolm Crosby into Oxford United with me as my first-team coach. Steve was coaching the reserves at the time and he was always looking to better himself, which was right, so we brought him into the set-up. There were no doubts that he was an outstanding coach, and soon enough, Derby came in for him and he had to go.

“It took him a bit of time to get his managerial head on when he took over at Middlesbrough, because they are different roles. Coaching and managing are two different things , he now knows how to do both jobs extremely well.

“He did a superb job at Middlesbrough, he was outstanding. People go back to his England time and perhaps it wasn’t the right time for him, but I’ve seen him when he was coaching England under Sven-Goran Eriksson and he was doing all the coaching, he’s very, very good.

“It’ll test him with the media up there. If he thinks that by managing Middlesbrough he knows the North-East media, he’ll realise that Newcastle and Middlesbrough are two different animals. The fact that he’s been abroad and dealt very well with that is a good thing.

“I wish him all the best, even as an ex-Sunderland manager, I wish Steve all the best. I’m sure he’ll enjoy it up there. It’s a fabulous place to manage.”

 

Sir Alex Ferguson appointed McClaren as his assistant at Manchester United in 1999, as a replacement for Brian Kidd. Together, the pair won the treble as well as claiming a further two league titles

The Northern Echo:

(Writing in his autobiography)

“Steve was always management material, no doubt about that. What I told Steve was: you should make sure you get the right club, the right chairman. Essential. Always. West Ham and Southampton were the ones that wanted him at this stage.

“From nowhere, Steve took a call from Steve Gibson, the chairman of Middlesbrough, and my advice was, ‘Absolutely no doubt, take it’. Bryan Robson, though he had lost his job there, always spoke highly of Steve Gibson, who was young, fresh and always willing to put his money in. They had a great training ground. ‘That’s your job,’ I told Steve.

“Organised, strong and always looking for new ideas, Steve was made for management. He was effervescent and energetic with a good personality.”

 

Stewart Downing played under McClaren at Middlesbrough, with the new Newcastle boss handing him his senior debut in 2002 and naming him in the side that played in the UEFA Cup final four years later. Downing also played for McClaren during his time as England manager

The Northern Echo:

“He was very good. As soon as he came in I remember me and David Murphy being promoted to the reserves and being asked to train with the first team. He asked us to travel to every ground in the country with the first team even though I wasn’t playing. He just said it was to gain experience and watch the players prepare and play.

“He was very organised. Everything was set up for the week and it was always something different. Even when things were not going too well you always enjoyed training because you went in wondering what you would be doing. Even if he was off as well he had good coaches around him to keep things interesting, like Steve Harrison and Steve Round.

“You’ve got to remember that I’m talking almost 15 years ago. He was in to analysing things and all the stats. Every player knew who he would be up against and what the strengths and weaknesses of the opposition might be. That’s pretty commonplace now, but I remember 15 years ago thinking ‘Wow, what’s this about’. He was trying that when I was a kid.

“Then there was Bill Beswick being brought in as his assistant, he was keen to bring in new ideas and it was unheard of to have a sports psychologist so close to the first team back then. He had seen a bit of it at Man United, and went a step further at Boro. I have never been too into all that but it worked.

“He will be 100 per cent still like that now. He will be still looking for new ideas at Newcastle. I think the England experience will have helped him too because it will have made him a stronger character. He will have learned from all of that.

“I know some of the lads with England always said he was a great coach but not a great manager, but I never had any problems like that. I always got on well with him really. We had our ups and downs, like when I felt I should have been playing and I ended up going to Sunderland on loan for a bit, but I have never had a major problem with him.

“When he was with England, he had seen something which I had said in the media about not being selected, but he didn’t have a real go at me, he just told me on the phone to be careful with what I was saying. That was a good way of dealing with things.

“We obviously had good times at Middlesbrough under him. There was the Carling Cup, the UEFA Cup final and runs, but the biggest memory I have is how he always believed in his players, he was always positive and telling us we could win.

“Even when we were going to places like Roma in the UEFA Cup or when we were trailing 2-0 at half-time in the UEFA Cup runs He would be positive. I remember him coming in at half-time and telling us ‘You can do this, we are going to win’ when we were down and out in the UEFA Cup games with Basel and Steaua. I was wondering what he was on about.”

 

Matthew Bates was one of the youth-team players McClaren brought through during his time at Middlesbrough. In 2006, the centre-half was one of 15 players born within a 30-mile radius of the Riverside who was named in the 16-man squad for a Premier League game at Fulham

The Northern Echo: Matthew Bates

“One of Steve’s biggest strengths was always the way he dealt with the young players. If there were injuries, or first-team players were unavailable, he’d call up a couple of lads from the youth team and get them to train with the first-team squad.

That was brilliant in terms of boosting your confidence and showing you were on the right track, and it also meant that when you did eventually make the step up properly, you weren’t overawed because you’d already trained with the senior players.

I remember when he gave me my debut. He was always really big on tactics and team shape, and the second half of the week would be spent doing that so he’d name his name a fair way in advance.

I knew on the Thursday or Friday that I would be playing, and he made a big thing of settling me down and making sure I knew I was capable of doing well. His man management has always been a big part of what makes him so successful.

I think he’d probably admit he was quite lucky with the group of young players that came through, but it was him, in partnership with Dave Parnaby, that did the work that turned some promising young players into a group who have all gone on to have good careers in the game.

He wasn’t afraid of throwing young lads in. I started quite a few of the group games in the year we got to the UEFA Cup final, but if I’m honest, I probably thought I’d drop out once the knock-out games came. But he had a lot of faith in me and dropped a few of the so-called more experienced players to keep me in the side.

His best moment in terms of his youth policy was that game at Fulham. I suppose things fell into place a bit – we were playing in the FA Cup semi-final and the UEFA Cup final and there was a need to give some of the lads a bit of a rest.

But it was still a remarkable achievement to have so many academy players in the same team. If that had been a Man United or a Liverpool doing that, it would have made worldwide headlines. Because it was Middlesbrough, it was maybe a little bit overlooked, but Steve should still be really proud in his part in that day.”

 

Michiel Jongsma is a Dutch journalist who works for the Belgian and Dutch football website BeNeFoot. He is the Dutch correspondent for the Guardian’s Football Weekly and covered many of McClaren’s games while he was the head coach of FC Twente

“He took over a very well-run club from a manager who was known as a great educator of players. But what he did do was push them on to the next level.

“They had been in and around the top three for a few years, but he elevated the team to a new standard. He created a top-sport culture over there, which is remarkable.

“When he returned for a second spell, the club had already begun its downfall in terms of competitiveness. They were third when McClaren came in and he wasn’t able to turn it around.

“They finished sixth that season, and McClaren’s main issue was that there needed to be investment into the side. The board decided to give him that financial backing, he got a few players in, one being Dosan Tadic, he was basically given a free hand which was rare in Dutch football, since we have the head coach model.

“At first, they started off very well and looked as though they would challenge again, but everything went off the boil. When the wheels come off, he doesn’t seem able to repair that type of thing.

“His second spell definitely damaged his reputation. He was lauded for the things he did in the first spell, he brought some professionalism into the club. Even his Dutchy-English accent was seen as cute rather than something negative.

“He wasn’t able to turn it around in his second spell though. He’s not known as the most fantastic manager but as a trainer, as a coach, he’s highly regarded.”