Wally with the brolly McClaren seeks redemption by going Dutch

FC Twente Enschede football club badge

Steve McClaren made his return to football today - far from the madding crowds attracted to the England team but in an environment which will give him the chance to rebuild his career.

The 47-year-old, who has been out of work since November following England's failure to qualify for Euro 2008, has agreed a two-year deal at the Eredivisie club FC Twente.

He takes over from club stalwart Fred Rutten, who moved to the Bundesliga with Schalke in April after guiding Twente to a place in the preliminary rounds of the Champions League last season.

Reinvention: Former England manager Steve McClaren will be hoping to shake off his infamous wally with the brolly image on his return to football management

Back in the game: McClaren, who co-commentated for the BBC during Euro 2008, has returned to football management

McClaren - who will be assisted by Erik ten Hag, a former Twente player - revealed he was advised by another ex-England manager, Sir Bobby Robson, to take the Twente job.

Robson had two spells in Holland in charge of PSV Eindhoven in the early and the late 1990s, winning the title in 1991 and 1992.

Indeed, he also moved to the Eredivisie straight after leaving the England job
after the 1990 World Cup.

McClaren said: 'Sir Bobby Robson told me that this would be a nice challenge
for me.

'He also told me that FC Twente is a fantastic club and that I would feel at
home.

'I am excited to be working again at a club that fits me well. I am looking
forward to this new challenge.'

The Englishman told Twente's official website, www.fctwente.nl: 'I noted from
the first meeting with chairman Joop Munsterman and other people at the club that they were very co-operative.

'It's an exciting time for the club, they were very successful under Fred Rutten and I cannot wait to meet the players and technical staff and to get to work.

'It's a great challenge for me to be with FC Twente in the Eredivisie and Champions League and I think we can all start with a positive feeling for the new season.

'I would like to say to the fans, about whom I have heard a lot, that we will do everything we can to bring the club further success.'

Frequently ridiculed in the English media, McClaren will be glad to work somewhere he will not be subject to national scrutiny on a daily basis, although he will be expected to at least maintain the standards set by Rutten.

Twente beat the likes of more established Dutch sides Ajax and Feyenoord to the
second Champions League qualification place in the Eredivisie last term.

The Enschede outfit finished fourth in the league, but beat the Amsterdam giants in a play-off to claim a spot in the third qualifying round of Europe's premier club competition.

Twente chairman Munsterman is confident McClaren is the man to continue to take
the club forward.

He said: 'We looked for a long time for a successor to Fred Rutten but we never sat back. For Twente it's important that we continue on the road that we are on. With
McClaren both parties had the feeling that it was a good match.

'At first the deal looked as though it had fallen through but we managed to reach an agreement after all.'

One of McClaren's first challenges though will be to try to convince the star performers from last season to stay at the Grolsch Veste.

Midfielder Orlando Engelaar, currently with the Holland squad at Euro 2008, in
particular has been linked in the German press with a move to join Rutten in
Gelsenkirchen.