Yarm, November 10:

England’s Euro campaign is hanging by a fine thread. That hasn’t stopped Steve McClaren from forecasting a bright future for the team.

Although, that won’t be his decision to make. “I want to go on, I love this job,” McClaren said. “I’ve got faith and belief in these players... they will go on in future and be successful.”

For now he can only focus on the coming week, with England in danger of missing out on a major tournament for the first time since the 1994 World Cup. “I can’t control what happens,” McClaren said. “The campaign is not over and we’re still in.”

That could be as early as Saturday next week if Russia beat Israel to render as redundant England’s final Group E qualifier with Croatia on November 21. Which is why McClaren is Israel’s newest and biggest fan. “They are a proud nation,” he said. “They have a fantastic home record. We have to get behind the Israelis and say we need a performance from them. They know that. The whole country, the whole of Europe will be looking at that game.”

McClaren had a forlorn introduction to international management last autumn, losing 2-0 in Croatia after a disastrous 3-5-2 formation experiment, plus a dire goalless draw at home to Macedonia. “I had different ideas and to get them across sometimes it happens straight away and sometimes it takes a bit of time,” he said. “It took a little bit longer than I thought it would do, but it’s happened and I believe we’ve turned it around and now we’re going forward.”

In May, that meant going back to former captain David Beckham, who McClaren axed after succeeding Sven-Goran Eriksson in August 2006. The reliance on Beckham earned the Los Angeles midfielder a place in the latest roster — and a courtesy visit to California by McClaren — despite lacking match fitness after a long injury layoff.