BBC plans to send more than 100 staff, including 'wally in a brolly' Steve McClaren, to Euro 2008

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He could not lead his football team there, but Steve McClaren will be among 100 BBC staff at the Euro 2008 tournament this summer.

The corporation plans to send a huge team of journalists and production staff to Austria and Switzerland even though no home nations are involved in next month's event.

Fans are outraged that the 47-year-old former England coachwill be paid to offer 'expert analysis' for Radio 5 Live listeners.

He was sacked in November 2007 after the team failed to qualify for the European championship following a match against Croatia.

It led to him being dubbed 'the wally with the brolly' as he watched the rain-sodden game under an umbrella on the touchline.

Despite the failure he was given a £2.5million payoff after Football Association chiefs ended his four-year contract.
Football fan and blogger Barney Ronay summed up many fans' strong feelings, saying: 'Initial reactions were probably best grouped together under the heading of furious disbelief.'

Another fan wrote: 'It's a travesty, McClaren shouldn't be allowed anywhere near English football again.'

McClaren's first commentary game will be on June 8 in Basle when Austria meet Croatia - the team that ensured England failed to qualify for the finals.

The BBC announced last month that he would appear with co-host Alan Green, who was one of his harshest critics as manager.

A BBC spokesman said numbers were not confirmed, but McClaren was going to Euro 2008 as part of the Radio 5 Live team.

'We expect there to be a lot of interest in the competition due to the number of Premiership players involved even though England is not playing,' he added.