'One of the Saddest Days of My Career'

After England's hopes of qualifying for Euro 2008 died last night, Steve McClaren looked funereal as he stood alone in the rain, knowing his umbrella could save him from a soaking but not a savaging. Nor a sacking.

This afternoon, looking gaunt and defeated, he reflected on the FA's inevitable decision to dismiss him. "This is one of the saddest days of my career," he told a press conference. "When I was appointed 18 months ago it was the proudest day of my career and I was honored to be England's head coach. I've enjoyed every minute and I'm sad to leave my position. I feel bad for all the people who are missing out: the country and the fans."

Though doleful, McClaren spoke with dignity and refused to blame anyone else for the shortcomings his side showed throughout their botched qualification campaign. "I could make excuses about injuries, bad luck and decisions but ultimately we had 12 games to qualify and we didn't do it," he said. "That's failure. I said 18 months ago that I'd live and die by results and the results haven't gone my way."

He refused to explore the reasons for that failure, repeatedly saying "today is not the day" to answer questions about the FA's role, the players' abilities, the influence of foreign players in the Premier League or grassroots coaching. "Those are wider issues," he said. "I'll give my version some time in the future."

Instead he was determined to do what his team so flagrantly couldn't: go out on a positive note. "The support I've had from everybody within the game has been fantastic," he said. "The support of the Brian [Barwick] and the FA has been fantastic. The players have been a pleasure to work with, a fantastic bunch. The staff behind the scenes have been incredible. I can't criticize anybody.

"All I want to do now is concentrate on getting over this huge disappointment," he added. "Although this is a sad day, I'll recover and bounce back and wait for the next challenge - I'm not one to lie around on the beach. I believe that after 18 months, I'm a better manager. I've learned a lot over the last 18 months and now I'm moving on."