I`m in charge, insists McClaren

Steve McClaren insists there is no room for player-power inside his England camp.

McClaren reacted angrily to suggestions that the players had forced him to scrap his plans to play a 3-5-2 formation against Macedonia on Saturday.

The England boss worked for two training sessions on the system earlier this week but stressed he will choose the team and the tactics along with his coaching staff. McClaren said: "The players do not pick the team and I can categorically say that the players did not have a meeting."

He added: "I, along with the coaches, pick the team, the tactics, the formations and the gameplan.

"Yes we will ask the players but you can tell if it flows, if it's cohesive when you are in training and it has been."

McClaren has won his first three games as England boss, starting the games with a traditional 4-4-2 formation.

It is the system most familiar to the players but the manager is keen to develop options.

That is why he devoted an entire day working on the 3-5-2 option when his squad first arrived in Manchester.

He did not reveal which tactics will be in evidence against Macedonia or in Croatia on Wednesday.

But he hinted that the work done on the training pitch with a back-three this week might be for the more distant future. McClaren said: "We have to look at different ways of doing things, look at new ideas."