'England have it all to prove'

Under-fire boss Steve McClaren has claimed that his misfiring England stars have everything to prove when they face Andorra in their Euro 2008 qualifier in Barcelona after they extended their winless run to five games last weekend.McClaren's men fell five points behind Group E leaders Croatia after being held to a 0-0 draw in Israel. They have taken just two points out of a possible nine since the former Middlesbrough manager's three-match winning run came to an end in the scoreless draw at home to minnows Macedonia last October.Aware total humiliation is waiting if his underperforming side fail to beat the part-timers from Andorra, McClaren has rejected talk of rifts with Wayne Rooney and assistant manager Terry Venables and has come out fighting in an attempt to restore his credibility.The England head coach said: "We spoke after the World Cup about the expectations surrounding this team. We have done nothing and proved nothing yet."I never said these were great players. We haven't done it at the World Cup and we haven't done it in tournaments. We will not be great, we will not even be called good, until we start proving it."McClaren has faced widespread calls for his dismissal in the wake of England's failure to get back to winning ways in Israel last Saturday - they have only scored once during their winless run which includes last November's 1-1 friendly draw in Holland.But the man who guided Middlesbrough to last season's Uefa Cup final has responded to the growing criticism by saying: "I want to front up and say what I believe. I deal in reality rather than perception."A lot has been said about Saturday's game but I have watched it again and gone through it with the players and, apart from the fact we didn't score, there was not a lot wrong."I have seen Israel draw twice with France. I have seen them draw in Russia. They are no mugs. Nobody expected them to be pushed back in their own half for all but the first ten minutes on Saturday."People in football who I respect have phoned me and said the only thing wrong with our performance was that we didn't get a goal and someone who has watched a lot of international football said it was as good a performance as they have seen over the weekend."My own situation is not an issue for me but I get angry when people say things that are clearly wrong."The Football Association's International Committee, meanwhile, has rejected reports McClaren has been summoned to a meeting to explain England's dismal recent performances.Chairman Noel White and vice-chairman Sir David Richards have expressed their backing for McClaren ahead of the clash with Andorra.They told reporters: "It is very disappointing to see reports today that we have or will 'summon' Steve McClaren to explain himself to the International Committee when we return to England."At a time when we are giving our full support to Steve and the England team ahead of tomorrow night's game with Andorra, these stories are very unhelpful."The support of White and Richards, plus FA chief executive Brian Barwick, is seen as crucial to McClaren's hopes of keeping his job.© Independent Television News Limited 2007. All rights reserved.

ITN | March 27, 2007

Tags:. .apart. .scored. .pushed. .assistant. .expressed