Steve McClaren's Biography

Who is Steve McClaren?

He is an ex-professional footballer and until his appointment as England head coach he was Middlesbrough manager.

On 22 November 2007, Steve McClaren was sacked as England coach following England's failure to qualify for Euro 2008.

McClaren had taken over from Sven Goran Erikkson as England's manager on August 1, 2006.

Steve McClaren went to Nunthorpe grammar school and he used to cycle 10 miles a day to get to school. At 16 he signed with Hull City, his local club.

McClaren didn't have a stunning playing career, turning out for Hull City, Derby County, Bristol City and Oxford United, before retiring in 1990.

He then became a reserve team coach at Oxford, but progressed quickly and in 1995 he became first team coach. Then McClaren moved to Derby as assistant manager but in late 1998 he became Sir Alex Ferguson's deputy as the assistant manager at Manchester United. He marked his first season there by winning the treble.

In 2000, Steve McClaren was appointed assistant manager of England by Peter Taylor, the caretaker manager. When Sven-Goran Eriksson was appointed head coach in 2001 he kept McClaren on in the job.

In 2001, Steve McClaren left Manchester United to become the manager of Middlesbrough. In his first season he took them to the FA cup semi-finals and in 2004 Middlesbrough won their first ever major trophy, when they beat Bolton 2-0 in the final of the Carling Cup. This win took them into European football for the first time.

In 2005, Middlesbrough had their highest ever finish in the Premiership coming 7th, which gave them another chance at European football.

In 2006, Middlesbrough qualified for the Uefa Cup Final against Sevilla and also reached the FA cup semi-final. McClaren's last game in charge of Middlesbrough was their 4-0 defeat by Sevilla in the Uefa Cup Final.

After a long selection process for the replacement for Sven Goran Eriksson, during which the supposed favourite, Luis Felipe Scolari, pulled out of the race due to media intrusion, Steve McClaren was finally named as England manager on 4th May.

On 11 August 2006, McClaren named his first England squad. He dropped David Beckham and declared he wanted "evolution not revolution".

However, after some poor performances by England in 2007, and some strong ones by Beckham for Real Madrid, McClaren was forced into a U-turn and recalled the midfielder.

More troubles followed and England's failure to qualify for Euro 2008 led to McClaren's sacking by the F.A.

In June 2008, Steve McClaren agreed a two-year deal to coach Dutch side FC Twente.

In 2009 Twente came second in the Dutch league; and, in May 2010, Twente, under Steve McClaren, won their first ever Dutch league title.

On 11 May 2010, Steve McClaren was appointed manager of German side Wolfsburg, however, in February 2011, he was sacked by the club with Wolfsburg in 12th place in the Bundesliga.

He was appointed manager of the Championship side Nottingham Forest at the start of the 2011/12 season, however he resigned after just 112 days.

In January 2012, Steve McClaren was once again appointed manager of FC Twente, however he left there in February 2013 and in July 2013, he was appointed coach of QPR under Harry Redknapp.

He soon moved to be head coach of Derby County before being appointed head coach of Newcastle United in June 2015.

On 11 March 2016, McClaren was sacked by Newcastle, who had won just six of 28 Premier League games under him.

Steve McClaren was reinstated by Derby County, however five months later, in March 2017, he was sacked again.

On 6 May 2018, he was named manager of QPR. However, in March 2019, Steve McClaren was sacked after a poor run of form saw QPR drop to 17th in the Champonship.

He then had another couple of brief returns to old clubs, going to Derby as technical director in 2020, and then joining the coaching staff of Manchester United in 2022.

On 31 July 2024, McClaren was named coach of the Jamaican national side.