As was discussed here earlier, former England manager Steve McClaren was announced as the new manager of Dutch side FC Twente on Friday. McClaren, who had been out of work since November when he was sacked after England failed to qualify for Euro 2008, has agreed a two-year deal at the Eredivisie club.

McClaren takes over from Fred Rutten, who joined Bundesliga side Schalke in April after guiding Twente to a place in the qualifying rounds of the Champions League last season. Twente beat out more experienced Dutch sides Ajax and Feyenoord to the second Champions League qualification place. The Enschede-based club finished fourth in the league, but beat Ajax in a play-off to claim a spot in the third qualifying round of the 2008-09 Champions League.

McClaren had been linked with the vacant post at Blackburn in the wake of Mark Hughes’ move to Manchester City, but after several weeks of talks with the Twente president Joop Munsterman and a chat with legendary English manager Sir Bobby Robson, he decided to relaunch his career in Holland. Robson had two spells in Holland in charge of PSV Eindhoven in the early and the late 1990s. His first spell was after the 1990 World Cup when he left the England job. He went on to win the Eredivise title in 1991 and 1992.

McClaren told reporters: “Sir Bobby Robson told me that this would be a nice challenge for me. He also told me that FC Twente is a fantastic club and that I would feel at home. ”
McClaren will need to get to work straight away and have a chat with star midfielder Orlando Engelaar, who was part of the Dutch squad at Euro 2008, as he has been linked in the German press with a move to join Rutten at Schalke. He will also need to win over the fans according to the UK-based newspaper The Mirror.

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