Champions League beckons with FC Twente for rain man McClaren

In football, reputations can be hard to shake off and it would appear that McClaren's has followed him to Holland.

Twente vision: Steve McClaren

The 'Wally with the Brolly' (der Wally met de paraplu in Dutch) signed a two-year contract with a glass of champagne in his hand - which he didn't drink - and a smile on his face.

But his first steps back towards footballing credibility will be a serious business.

McClaren's prospects will stand or fall on what happens in this small town near the German border next season.

The damage inflicted on his reputation by failure as England coach was grave and the fact that his appointment came while Euro 2008 continues without his national team will not go unnoticed by those who refuse to forgive him.

However, if the first step to redemption depends on the right attitude, McClaren has made the right start.

Some ex-England managers, such as Glenn Hoddle and Kevin Keegan, seemed consumed by bitterness for years after leaving the post.

McClaren appears to have moved on. 'I am phlegmatic, that's probably the best way to describe it,' he said. 'It was a great experience and a great honour and I have never allowed myself to get bitter. I have kept my belief and what I have done in the past has kept me going. I'm not disappointed by people's reactions. Time heals and I will come to the fore again.

'I have become harder and less trusting of people in the last two years and maybe that's a lesson I had to learn in football. And having coped with that, I can more or less cope with anything.

'It was one of those things which didn't work out. But I'm 47 and have a lot of years ahead. This is a new challenge and who knows where it might lead?'

Having learned quickly that he would wait a long time for another job in the Barclays Premier League, McClaren has taken a brave step on the advice of Sir Bobby Robson and Chelsea academy director Frank Arnesen.

He says his aim is to learn a little about a new country, a new culture and - more importantly - a different type of football.

Perhaps this may suit him somewhat better. McClaren was, after all, always more comfortable as a coach than as a celebrity.

'The timing and the opportunity are absolutely right for me,' he added. 'I can't stress enough that one of my ambitions was to move abroad and further my coaching education.

'We're very limited in England and it's something which I've stressed in the last eight months.

'I've been going round the country and doing coaching things and talking to other coaches. We're blinkered; we're not opening our horizons up to coaching abroad and getting the opportunity to do that.'

Success for McClaren at FC Twente will be hard earned. His budget for players will be tiny and his best player - Dutch international Orlando Engelaar - earns just £4,000-a-week and has expressed a desire to leave.

Against this background, he must continue the progress made by his predecessor Fred Rutten, whose second-place league finish last season won the club a place in the Champions League qualifying round for the first time.

Twente are in a pool with clubs such as Arsenal, Liverpool, Barcelona, Basle and Schalke and their Grolsch Veste stadium is undergoing expansion, so the 'home' leg will be played at nearby Arnhem.

'The draw will be interesting,' said McClaren with a smile. 'But, hey, nothing is expected of FC Twente in the Champions League. So we'll see how it goes, let's see what happens.

'It excites me that it's more of a coaching job and development job. We don't have the budget so we need to develop.'

First impressions suggest that life in Enschede - with a population of just 160,000 - will be low key.

In Goody's Steak House, where the players often eat after matches, the reaction to McClaren's arrival was positive, if a little laid back.

His last job ended under an umbrella in a monsoon at Wembley. This one began in glorious summer sunshine yesterday.

Only the churlish would not wish him well...