by Mick the Ram

The Jamaican Football Federation have made the bold decision to appoint former England manager Steve McClaren as their new head coach.

He leaves his last position as part of the Manchester United backroom staff under Erik ten Hag and replaces Heimir Hallgrímsson, who left in July after a disappointing showing at the Copa America.

It is McClaren’s first return to management since being dismissed as Queens Park Rangers boss, five years ago.

Federation boss excited with appointment

Michael Ricketts the president of the Jamaican federation, could not hide his delight at the appointment: “We are truly elated; we are confident we made the right decision and we are looking forward to him guiding our nation towards the 2026 Fifa World Cup.”

Mr Ricketts explained that they had been assessing candidates in recent weeks, but McClaren was the stand-out, with other top names linked to the vacancy believed to include Steve Bruce and Dwight Yorke.

New man predicting bright future

For his part, McClaren stated that he was “extremely proud and excited” at the opportunity. He said he had no hesitation in accepting a position which he felt was ideally suited to him and this stage of his career.

He doesn’t come in completely blind to the role as prior to taking up his position at United, he had spent time with the Jamaicans for a period of time, while working as a technical adviser at Fifa.

Remembering that spell positively, he said: “I quickly came to realise the potential the country possessed and in the years since, that potential has grown significantly and there is every reason to believe that with continued hard work and development a bright future lies ahead.”

Time running out at United?

The writing seemed to be on the wall for the Yorkshireman at United with new coaches joining the club, including former fan favourite Ruud van Nistelrooy.

McClaren did not go on the team’s pre-season tour to the US, so he may have felt the time was right to jump, before getting pushed.

Innovative coach in demand

It was the likeable coach’s second spell at Old Trafford, having been there previously as Assistant Manager to Sir Alex Ferguson at the turn of the century.

They had poached him from Derby County, having been impressed with his innovative training methods, which many now say were well ahead of their time.

England failure

Middlesbrough took a chance on him and he guided them to a UEFA Cup final, before he was offered the chance to succeed Sven-Göran Eriksson as England manager.

However, his appointment was not a popular one with his tactics often criticised and when they failed to qualify for the 2008 Euros, his time as the Three Lions boss was up.

Overseas experience

He next headed to the Netherlands where he enjoyed great success with FC Twente, leading the club to their first ever league title.

After a short spell in Germany he headed back to England and found himself back at Derby, a club very close to his heart, having played for the Rams back in the 1980’s.

He very nearly brought them promotion to the Premier League, losing unluckily to a last minute goal in a play-off final, having dominated the game more or less from start to finish.

He left 12 months later, but would return to the East Midlands club twice more, in between a short stint as Newcastle United boss.

Man to make all the difference?

Jamaica has been in need of a dynamic and experienced leader since Hallgrimsson’s departure. Their only World Cup appearance to date came at France 1998, when they were knocked out in the group stage.

Steve McClaren might just be the man who proves the catalyst to harness the obvious talent and potential, and help them achieve their goal.

He is set to take charge of his first game against Cuba in September.