England coach Steve McClaren revealed his disappointment with his side's performance after the goalless draw with Israel at Tel Aviv in the Euro 2008 qualifiers. "To dominate the game and have the chances we did and not score was disappointing and not good enough," McClaren told a press conference after the game. "We are disappointed and frustrated by our failure to execute. We got the ball in the right areas but failed to make the decisive pass." McClaren questioned the lack of scoring suffered by his frontline, which only managed to find the target once in their last five games of the qualifiers. "It is a concern, it is a worry. I would be more concerned if we weren't creating chances but at this level you have to score goals," he added. "We have got players who can score goals. They packed the defence and it was always going to be hard." The former Middlesbrough manager believes that he can still complete his mission and take England through to the European championships in Austria and Switzerland, insisting that the draw with Israel is not the end of the story.
McClaren "My job is to make sure England reach Euro 2008," he said. "I am still confident we will be there. A lot of people said this was going to be a very hard game. The atmosphere is intense, Israel have a very good home and a lot of people said a draw would be a fair result." The under-fire manager is facing a load of criticism from the media and the fans after losing two precious points in the pursuit of Croatia and Russia, who both cruised to victories to lead England by five and three points respectively. The Sunday papers blasted McClaren at the wake of the boring draw. Tabloid Mail commented "One Holy Mess", while the Sunday Express described the game as "Mac's Hell Aviv". The newspapers also reflected the fans' frustration and booing during the game chanting "what a load of rubbish" and "you don't know what you're doing" after the tactician replaced Aaron Lennon with Stewart Downing. McClaren's future with England will hugely rely on the upcoming midweek qualifier against minnows Andorra at the Nou Camp.
