Advertisement

Jermaine Jenas exclusive: Why top coach McClaren is failing as a manager

Yahoo Sport's global soccer ambassador has plenty of experience of working with the under-fire Newcastle manager and insists handling players is McClaren's Achilles heel

Jermaine Jenas exclusive: Why top coach McClaren is failing as a manager

I'm a big fan of Steve McClaren. I worked with him over several years during my career and I can say with total confidence that he is an outstanding football talent, as well as being a top guy.

That's why I really hoped he would be a success at Newcastle, the club where I spent four seasons as a player. But the sad truth is he can have no complaints if Newcastle sack him this week. In fact, I'm surprised Mike Ashley hasn't done it already.

I've worked under Steve when he has been a coach and a manager. As a coach he is brilliant - one of the best I've ever encountered - but his career shows that in terms of management there is something missing. Those two jobs may sound similar, but in fact they are very different.

I initially got to know Steve during his time with England. It was always going to be tough for him as England manager because he had previously been the coach while Sven-Goran Eriksson was in charge. As a player, you have a certain relationship with a coach or a number two, and it's a completely different to the one you have with the manager.

Someone like Sven, for example, would hardly ever speak to you. Very rarely you might have a one-on-one with him if he came over to talk to you - well actually it was more like a whisper, he spoke very quietly. But you'd always be intrigued, because it was such a rare occurrence that he would be speaking to you at all. So you'd listen.

Newcastle manager Steve McClaren looks dejected against Bournemouth during the 3-1 defeat
Newcastle manager Steve McClaren looks dejected against Bournemouth during the 3-1 defeat

Steve, meanwhile, was basically one of the lads. Everyone loved him. He was also vitally important on the training ground. He would set up most of the sessions and he would have a huge input into anything Sven wanted to implement.

He was hugely respected - partly because he had been Alex Ferguson's number two at Manchester United, but also simply because of how good his training sessions were. You were always tested mentally, it was never an easy session and there was always a clear reason for everything he wanted to do.

But when he made the transition from coach to manager, it was almost impossible for the players to go from having a laugh and bantering with him to seeing him as "England manager" - such a daunting job title.

[14 PICTURES THAT SUM UP MCCLAREN'S SEASON]

Steve didn't try to change things that much in terms of his relationships with the players, for instance by suddenly becoming super strict and serious. But that worked against him. Because as good as Steve's training sessions were, the managers I have worked with that I consider the best are the ones that kept their distance and were a bit aloof, as opposed to being your best mate. That helped them establish their authority.

You almost need a psychology degree to be a manager these days. Even with Fabio Capello - who may not have done too well with England - you could tell why he had been so successful in the past. He had real authority. A bit like Sir Alex, who was almost like a head teacher. His players were scared of him - and sometimes it's fear that gets the best out of players.

But I don't think Steve has that. He is bubbly, smiley, lively, energetic - all of the time. Of course, there were occasions in that England campaign where he would lose his rag - perhaps unsurprisingly given what a disaster it was - but it didn't have the same impact on the players as it would have done from other managers.

Steve had the players' full respect as a coach, but I'm not sure he had it as a manager. Plus, he did feel the pressure and clearly has to shoulder a lot of the blame for the fact that England failed to qualify for Euro 2008 despite having one of the best squads of my era.

Steve McClaren is a naturally smiley person but that is proving his undoing
Steve McClaren is a naturally smiley person but that is proving his undoing

My next experience with Steve was at QPR, when Harry Redknapp brought him in as a coach while we were chasing promotion. Harry was one of those managers, like Sven, who kept his distance - sometimes too much of a distance to be honest. But Steve came in and knitted everything together, and he refreshed everybody - the players, the other coaches and the manager.

He implemented new ideas and styles of play and tactics and got us more organised. We went from being a group of players who were pretty much winging it in the Championship, based on the fact we had a wealth of Premier League experience, to a team with a definable style of play. And it was down to Steve.

That's what makes Steve such a tough one to analyse. In that instance at QPR he was essentially doing all the things a manager would do. He was on the touchline and guiding our style of play. When he left to take the manager's job at Derby, we started to slide and the Rams started to catch us up.

It ended with us meeting them in the play-off final - which fortunately we won. Who knows what would have happened if he'd taken Derby up that season - he was unlucky with the way things turned out there.

But it all boils down to the same outcome. When Steve is a number two, he gets the best out of everybody. As a number one, despite all of his ability, that crossover from coach to manager seems a tough one for him to make - in the English league, at least.

Steve McClaren was the go-to man with England during the Sven-Goran Eriksson era
Steve McClaren was the go-to man with England during the Sven-Goran Eriksson era

Even then, at Newcastle I thought he could learn from those experiences and be the man for the job.

He didn't start well but the transfer policy at the club didn't help him. I think a lot of managers turned the job down for that reason. Anyone can see it's a fantastic club with great fans, but not many managers want be told who to buy.

So I let Steve off the hook initially, but he can have no complaints about the players they signed in January. Andros Townsend, Jonjo Shelvey, Henri Saivet too - it gave them more than enough to stay in the league.

But it's just not happening. They have issues with scoring goals and with keeping them out - not a good combination. And for a club with the second biggest net spend on transfers in the whole league this season - behind only Man City - it simply isn't good enough.

Certainly Steve will feel that some of his players have let him down, but he will also need to look at himself. Although firing the manager doesn't always work, you can't really find an argument to defend him and I fear gravely for his job.

Relegation for any club is catastrophic, but Mike Ashley is a businessman first and foremost, and if there's anyone in the league who will base their decisions solely making sure they get next year's TV money, it will be him.

I don't want Steve to be sacked - not just because I like him but because I know how good he is. I still believe he can be a top manager, once he is able to better stamp down his authority. But there is no real case for him keeping his job.

Having said that, I think Newcastle can still get out of trouble. It basically looks like a three-horse race between them, Norwich and Sunderland for that cherished 17th spot.

It means the Tyne-Wear derby in a couple of weeks is looking like one of the biggest for a generation. In recent years Sunderland have had a good run of sacking their managers just beforehand and getting a winning response. Maybe it's Newcastle's turn to do that now.