Reggae Boyz Bring in Ex-England Manager
Steve McClaren walks away from Manchester United role for a second shot as international head coach
The Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) sprung a surprise by announcing the appointment of former England manager Steve McClaren as their new head coach today.
The British-born 63-year-old has left his role as first team coach at Premier League giants Manchester United to have another shot on the international arena, having encountered a tough 18 months when he was England boss.
With over 30 serious applications received by the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) — which included a trio of ex-Manchester United players in the shape of Steve Bruce (England international), Ole Solskjaer (Norway) and Dwight Yorke (Trinidad & Tobago) — there was a gradual process to narrow it down to five.
Four of these five names on JFF’s shortlist were believed to be Bruce, former Reggae Boyz star Deon Burton, ex-Jamaica assistant manager Miguel Coley and experienced international head coach Jose Peseiro from Portugal.
The mystery shrouded in the unnamed fifth candidate continued until today’s announcement, and follows JFF president Michael Ricketts’ desire to install a coach from England.
McClaren has a two-year deal, with the priority to reach the 2026 World Cup finals. His coaching CV includes England, FC Twente in the Netherlands, Manchester United and Middlesbrough.
Yet McClaren experienced a torrid time as England manager. Once he took the helm in May 2006, he was ridiculed by the media who nicknamed him “Second Choice Steve”. This was because it became public knowledge that Brazilian coach Luiz Felipe Scolari had turned down the England FA.
Despite adding former England boss Terry Venables as his assistant, McClaren proved immediately unpopular with fans, pundits and the media after ruthlessly axing experienced players and star names.
His plan to move England into a different direction by introducing emerging talent backfired. The team didn’t gel as a unit, and they bagged just one goal in five matches before an insipid 3-0 success over minnows Andorra.
McClaren halted his experiment and reluctantly recalled the iconic David Beckham, who subsequently helped the national side score four wins from six Euro 2004 games.
Then Euro 2004 defeats to Russia and Croatia resulted in England failing to qualify for the prestigious tournament. McClaren was swiftly given the boot.
During his international tenure there was constant criticism over McClaren’s player selection and tactics.Whether McClaren, whose last head coach role was at London-based QPR in 2018/2019, will have learned from his England debacle remains to be seen, as the Reggae Boyz do have a number of ageing stars that he may well chop.
Boyz in their thirties include shotstoppers Andre Blake and Amal Knight, defenders Amari’i Bell, Damion Lowe, Michael Hector, Kemar Lawrence, Adrian Mariappa, Ethan Pinnock and Alvas Powell, midfield pair Kemar Roofe and Devon Williams plus forwards Michail Antonio, Bobby Decordova-Reid and Fabian Reid.
Yet Croatia have been creaking with their Euro 2024 squad still rammed with players who reached the 2018 World Cup finals in Russia. In contrast Spain stole the show at the Euros, being crowned champions with eye-catching performances courtesy of their array of emerging talent who were fearless at times.
Jamaica have been without a coach since Icelander Heimir Hallgrímsson resigned in May, following three straight defeats in Copa America 2024. He promptly took over the Republic of Ireland hotseat, which left virtually everyone connected with the Boyz fuming, because negotiations were apparently taking place before the Copa America campaign.
McClaren said: “Although the opportunity has come somewhat unexpectedly, I had no hesitation in accepting a position that is ideally suited to me at this stage of my career.
“Prior to returning to Manchester United for a second spell [in 2022], I spent time at FIFA as a Technical Advisor on their Global Eco Analysis project. Jamaica was one of the teams I worked with, and I quickly came to realise the potential the country possessed.
“In the years since, that potential has grown significantly. There is every reason to believe that, with continued hard work and development, a bright future lies ahead.
“The target for Jamaica is to qualify for a place at the World Cup [finals] in 2026. This is a challenge that we as a team will strive to deliver during the upcoming qualifying campaign.”
McClaren has plenty to ponder ahead of tackling his seemingly easy World Cup qualifiers next June, with the Boyz set to face the British Virgin Islands and Guatemala with either the usual suspects on the pitch or younger talents given the nod.
He will be expected to guide the Boyz to the next World Cup finals, which will be co-hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States. These three nations are Jamaica’s biggest rivals in the CONCACAF region. As they have been given automatic berths for football’s biggest competition, the Boyz are expected to breeze into the World Cup finals for only the second time in their history.
McClaren will kick off his tenure with Jamaica on 6 September, when Cuba visit the National Stadium in Kingston for a CONCACAF Nations League match. He will take his troops to Honduras four days later for another Nations League game, with the sides meeting again in Jamaica on 14 October.
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