Steve McClaren

Stephen McClaren (born 3 May 1961) is an English former professional footballer and coach who currently serves as an assistant coach for Premier League club Manchester United, in his second spell at the club.

McClaren was born on 3 May 1961 in Fulford, York, the son of Margaret (née Bogg) and Brian McClaren who had married the previous year.

Described as "Yorkshire born and bred", McClaren's ancestors worked variously as miners, brewers, cotton mill workers, labourers and farmworkers, as well as in domestic service.

As a child, McClaren attended Nunthorpe Grammar School after passing his eleven-plus, preferring it over a closer school because of the emphasis which was placed on sports.

In order to attend he had to cycle a daily four-mile round trip across York.

This is cited as an example of his determination to succeed in sport.

At school, he played rugby, tennis, squash and was captain of the school's football team.

He also played for York Boys under-15 team and represented the county of Yorkshire.

Playing as midfielder, McClaren is remembered as being a "tidy" player, "skilful on the ball" and "head and shoulders above the rest."

As a player, McClaren was a midfielder who spent most of his career in the lower leagues of English football.

The bulk of his playing career was with Hull City, who he joined in 1979 at the age of 18 after leaving school, He went on to play 178 games scoring 16 goals before leaving in 1985.

He then played for Derby County between 1985 and 1988, making 25 appearances.

During 1987, he joined Lincoln City (on loan) making only eight appearances.

In 1988, he moved to Bristol City and played 61 times, scoring two goals.

He joined his final club, Oxford United, in 1989.

He played 33 times for Oxford before an injury forced him to retire in 1992.

After retiring from playing, McClaren began his coaching career as a youth and reserve team coach at Oxford United, where Denis Smith was manager.

McClaren began his coaching career with Oxford United, before joining Derby County in 1995.

He moved back to Derby County in 1995, where he was assistant manager to Jim Smith.

The pair won promotion to the Premier League in their first season in charge, establishing themselves in this division and later enjoyed further consolidation in the top flight.

In 1999, McClaren was hired by Manchester United as Brian Kidd's replacement as Alex Ferguson's assistant manager.

He held that position for two years, until he was hired as manager of Middlesbrough.

In early 1999, McClaren moved to Manchester United as assistant to Alex Ferguson, replacing Brian Kidd.

At the time, he was so little known that he was introduced by United chairman Martin Edwards as "Steve McClaridge", perhaps confusing him with the former Leicester City striker Steve Claridge.

His first half-season was distinguished by United winning the treble, consisting of the Premier League title, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League.

He developed the reputation as one of the most tactically astute coaches in the country, using modern methods such as video analysis and sports psychologists.

United later won the League titles in 2000 and 2001, thus ensuring they won every title contested while McClaren was at the club.

In October 2000, McClaren was made a coach in the England national team by caretaker-manager Peter Taylor.

He retained the position under permanent manager Sven-Göran Eriksson until November 2002, combining the job with his roles at club level.

During his tenure, Middlesbrough won their first (and thus far only) major trophy, the League Cup in 2004.

However, he returned to assist Eriksson as assistant manager shortly before UEFA Euro 2004 as Brian Kidd had undergone surgery for prostate cancer.

They were also UEFA Cup runners-up in 2006.

He was appointed manager of the England national team in August 2006, but was dismissed a year later after England failed to qualify for UEFA Euro 2008, and was the subject of strong media criticism.

In 2008, McClaren was appointed manager of Dutch club Twente, with whom he won the club's first ever Eredivisie championship in 2010.

Soon afterwards, he took over at VfL Wolfsburg in Germany, though he was dismissed mid-season due to poor results.

After a short spell as manager of Nottingham Forest, he returned to Twente in 2012.

His second stint with Twente was less successful than his first, however, and McClaren resigned in early 2013.

He returned to Derby later that year, leading the club to the play-offs in the 2013–14 season, but failed to win promotion and he was dismissed in 2015.

He was soon appointed as head coach of Newcastle United, but was dismissed after less than year after winning only six of his 28 Premier League matches in charge.

He had a second spell as Derby manager from October 2016 to March 2017 and in 2018, McClaren was appointed manager of Queens Park Rangers, before being dismissed in April 2019.