DESPITE the farcical way Luiz Felipe Scolari pulled out of the running to become the next England manager, the Football Association have insisted Steve McClaren was the first choice.

McClaren was unveiled in front of the national media yesterday at Soho Square as the man to replace Sven-Goran Eriksson after this summer's World Cup.

The Boro boss, who heads off with his current employers to Holland next week for the UEFA Cup final, will take charge of his first England game in a friendly with Greece on August 16.

His installation brings to an end a long, drawn out process in which he was favourite for weeks until Scolari met up with FA chief executive Brian Barwick in Portugal last week.

The press attention that particular meeting got led to the Brazilian saying he wanted out of the race to succeed Eriksson, leaving McClaren clear ahead of Sam Allardyce to take charge.

But Barwick claimed last night that the Swede's No 2 at this summer's World Cup in Germany was the man the six-man nominations panel reached unanimity on.

"It's seen by many as a torturous process," said Barwick. "I think we tried to appoint a senior person in a major industry.

"We hit the target here today. It started in early March and it ended up in May. We have had a job to do and it's taken us as long as it's taken us.

"It may have been tedious from where you were, at times it's been tedious from where we are, but it's taken as long as it has. He (McClaren) did two fantastic interviews. He was my first choice, the FA board's unanimous choice."

And, despite travelling to Portugal to see him, Barwick's adamant he was never told he could fill the post.

"I saw (Luiz) Felipe Scolari on three occasions - once in London, once in Oxfordshire, definitely in Lisbon. There were potential developments. . . he then declared he had no interest in the job. We never offered him the job," said Barwick.

"My first choice was always Steve McClaren. That might be difficult for people to get their heads across. We tried to take out the conjecture before a World Cup in a football industry that needs to know where it's going through the closed season."

And Barwick, whose position has come under the spotlight during the last few weeks, has defended the avenue the FA decided to go on in their pursuit of the new man.

"We are the FA and we have to take people with us. I enjoyed having some experience around it," he said. "From the outside it is an easy chip to have at us but those people were very helpful to me.

''It always looks complicated from the outside but it is less complicated and convoluted from the inside. People are able to be appointed in discreet ways but we accept, as the Football Association, it is difficult for people to keep secrets."