England's new coach Steve McClaren said he was proud of team's 5-0 win over Andorra in their opening Euro 2008 qualifying match. "They handled the game very very well, just what we asked of them," McClaren was quoted by BBC Sport after the huge victory on Saturday. The victory was McClaren's first competitive win as England coach but he said he wasn't focused on the Euro 2008 race rather than the importance of building team skills throughout the qualifiers. "It was always going to be a test for us - not the score line, not winning the game, but how we handled it," McClaren said. "We controlled the tempo, were patient, and never got frustrated - despite some of the tackles." Both Peter Crouch and Jermain Defoe scored braces while Steven Gerrard completed the rout. Despite the high score, the England boss praised the team's overall performance, not just the final tally.
McClaren "It was just the general feeling of controlling the game through possession, creating enough chances, the substitutes making an impact and, of course, Defoe and Crouch, the main men, getting the goals," he said. While Defoe and Crouch seem to provide a strong striking partnership, McClaren was hesitant to rely too heavily on Defoe. Andrew Johnson replaced a recovering Defoe and almost set up a third goal for Crouch. "Well, you saw that, but Andy Johnson came on, looked very lively and created one or two chances," he added. "So the competition for places is there. There's always people breathing down your neck and we've got that in that squad." Yet, Defoe was excited about his excellent performance with a brace on, and admitted he felt like he had a lot to prove. "I think I did have something to prove. I'm back in the team, enjoying my training and was looking forward to the game," Defoe said.
