Former England manager Steve McClaren has admitted he deliberately favoured Chelsea players during his short-lived tenure, citing the difficulty of overcoming club rivalries within the squad. The 64-year-old, who was sacked after 15 months following failure to qualify for Euro 2008, made the revelation on The Managers podcast alongside Tony Pulis and Mick McCarthy.
McClaren explained that he consciously selected Chelsea players over those from Manchester United or Liverpool because the Blues were the dominant force in English football at the time, having won consecutive Premier League titles. He said: 'I'm looking at it, going, Do I go United? Do I go Liverpool? Do I go Chelsea? And I went with Chelsea, because Beckham was kind of [on a downward trajectory]. So you could never get that culture, that togetherness.'
The former boss also acknowledged that the England camp suffered from a divisive atmosphere rooted in club loyalties. 'Culture beats anything,' he said. 'You get a team of lads who run for each other, they'll beat anybody... And we could never get that. There was always an air of United, Liverpool...'
McClaren's decision to lean on Chelsea stars such as John Terry, Frank Lampard, Joe Cole and Ashley Cole came after he controversially dropped David Beckham and handed the captaincy to Terry. He admitted that resolving the friction was a challenge: 'We pussyfooted around... Instead of going, Come on, there's gotta be a bit of conflict to sort this out.'
Reflecting on his tenure, McClaren praised Gareth Southgate for mastering the art of uniting players from rival clubs. His comments serve as a reminder of the difficulties national team managers face in fostering cohesion amid deep-seated club allegiances.
