Steve McClaren did not expect to be here again. When it emerged that he would be returning to Derby County, 17 months after being sacked by the club, eyebrows were raised, to say the least. McClaren departed the first time after a catastrophic run of form during which the club dropped from the top of the Championship in March to out of the play-off spots in May, but his dismissal came about after a flirtation with Newcastle United towards the end of the season – a flirtation that, of course, eventually turned into a relationship.
“The circumstances in which I left weren’t ideal and that’s my fault,” McClaren said on Friday, apologising for “not quashing” rumours he might leave. “To get a second chance, I’m very lucky. There’s some unfinished business.”
McClaren apologised for the way things ended but only after being pressed a few times. From the off it is clear that this is not a standard managerial appointment.
When McClaren talked of being lucky, he meant it in the way someone talks about being blessed with a wonderful family, rather than the sense of being fortunate to get a job given his recent record. But his managerial career (certainly post‑Twente) has largely been built on a sense of optimism that might not be entirely justified. Nottingham Forest appointed him despite his failure with Wolfsburg, Twente took him back despite his time at the City Ground ending quickly and Derby brought him in (the first time) despite his being sacked by the Dutch club. Newcastle then pursued their interest despite that late-season collapse at Derby and now he is back at the iPro Stadium, despite all of those things.
His last clear success was the Dutch title in 2010. Since then highlights have come intermittently. Yet, along with a reputation as an excellent coach, that has been enough to keep him in employment. This latest appointment seems the most optimistic of all, as quite apart from this questionable record, the “baggage” between club and manager remains. As with a marriage reconciled after previous infidelity there may always be suspicion.
“There was a certain amount of healing,” McClaren said of the talks in which previous differences were “thrashed out” between him, the chief executive, Sam Rush, and the owner, Mel Morris. “Whenever I’ve been successful in the past it’s because of the relationship with the owner.”
Therein lies the rub. Morris’s relationship with his managers has sometimes been tricky and McClaren is Derby’s fifth manager of the calendar year: Paul Clement began it in charge, then after he was sacked Darren Wassall took over until the end of the season. Then Nigel Pearson arrived in the summer and, when his brief spell was brought to an end, Chris Powell had a couple of games. Leeds United will be McClaren’s first opponents on Saturday and, when a managerial situation is less stable than at a Massimo Cellino club, it is clear something is awry.
“You go into a football club and sometimes it takes off and sometimes it will take time,” McClaren said, aware that time has not been a luxury available to many of his predecessors. “It’s whether you actually get the time to get through that. That’s what you always hope for. We will have conflict and disappointments and things to sort out but, as long as we do it together, there’s no reason why we can’t be successful again.”
Perhaps unwittingly, McClaren thereby touched upon what has arguably made Derby the most frustrating side in the Championship, if not the country. This is a club at which everything seems to be right in theory, from squad to stadium to training ground, but things keep going wrong. Is bringing back a man sacked last year the best course of action? Maybe. They have tried most other things, so why not?
Maybe McClaren deserves a second chance on purely footballing grounds. In 2013 he inherited a team in the wrong half of the table and turned them into the best side in the division, cruelly losing in the play-off final. And then, before the collapse, for three-quarters of the following season they were the same, winning while playing brilliant football, a point emphasised by him and Rush.
This is perhaps McClaren’s last real chance for success but for the club it therefore represents a significant gamble. Life is rarely dull at Derby County.
