If Steve McClaren was in any doubt just how short the honeymoon period is for England managers, a quick glance at last Sunday’s headlines should have made it quite clear.

England’s display against Macedonia on Saturday was nothing short of abysmal. It was, quite probably, the single worst performance by an England team we have witnessed in a decade. And that includes those under Sven.

And the British media, as is their want, were quick to turn on the boss who has only been in charge for three competitive games, blaming him for the shambles that unfolded at Old Trafford.

The truth is he can’t really have any complaints about the criticism. He admitted the performance was well below the required standards and he also agreed he has to take responsibility.

There were a number of reasons why the Macedonia match went horribly wrong. Injuries to some key personnel obvious didn’t help and along with the fact that other players were desperately out of form.

Ultimately, however, McClaren has to hold up his hand and admit it was his fault. He picked the players he believed could do a job and he told them how to do it. And it just didn’t work.

With the possible exception of new-found hero Peter Crouch and Steven Gerrard for 20 minutes in the second half, not one of the players who took to the pitch put in a performance that even their own mothers’ would have been proud of.

Tonight McClaren will be without Gerrard which is going to make the task of beating Croatia in Zagreb that much more difficult. Before Saturday, England might have been happy with a draw today but that no longer holds true. They need a win to re-affirm themselves as group favourites.

So what can the manager do to change things around? Firstly he can put his foot down and tell the players that if he wants to try a 3-5-2 formation then that is exactly what he will do.

Secondly, he can stop following in Sven’s footsteps and picking players who are clearly not playing anywhere near their best. Downing is an international disaster and should be sent back to Middlesborough with all due haste. Just because he is left-footed does not make him any good.

Lampard needs an international break. A player who was once one of our most feared midfielders is not even a shadow of the player he was. He needs a rest to regain his hunger. He will play tonight due to lack of numbers but after that he should be put out of his international misery for a while.

And Rooney needs dropping too. He may well be the most skillful player we have but when he is not firing on all cylinders he is nothing more than a petulant busybody with the ability to cause a fight in a phone box.

McClaren insists Rooney will come good. And I am equally positive he will. But we can’t take the chance of that possibly happening against Croatia. Defoe and Crouch had formed a rather formidable partnership in his absence and that should be allowed to continue this evening.

I have no doubts that England, even with their injury problems, have enough skill and ability in the side to inflict Croatia’s first ever competitive home defeat.

If McClaren pulls the right strings, adopts the right tactics and displays the right motivational skills, he will once again look like the right man for the job.

If he doesn’t, then I really wouldn’t bother buying any newspapers on Thursday morning if I were him…

Scotland’s success

A few months ago I labelled Scotland as one of the worst international football teams on the planet.

It was an opinion based on fact – they were losing matches on a regular basis to teams they should have been beating without breaking into a sweat.

At the time I got a number of abusive emails from Scotland fans who I had apparently offended with my comments. It was never my intention to offend, merely tell it as I saw it. And back then, Scotland were best described as “pants”.

However, a few months is a long time in football and now I feel it is only fair to give credit where credit is most certainly due.

I am not just talking about their victory over France last Saturday. Although magnificent in itself, that achievement is merely the crowning glory in a process of rebuilding which has been nothing short of inspirational.

The turnaround has taken a long time coming – Scotland have not qualified for any of the last four major tournaments – but it very much looks like it has been worth the wait.

In Walter Smith they have a manager who has instilled passion and belief in a young team. He has given them back their pride and developed them into a side that is not easy to beat.

Now they sit proudly atop their qualifying group with three straight wins in a row and should they pull off a victory in Ukraine today they will be well on their way to making the finals in 2008.

I, for one, don’t subscribe to the theory that just because I support England I should want Scotland to lose. Far from it. If England are out of a tournament there is nobody I would rather see win it than Scotland.

And, on that basis alone, their revival and re-emergence as a genuine international force is something to be truly welcomed.

The fact that they put one over on the French just made the whole thing that much sweeter…

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