Stephen McClaren (born 3 May 1961) is an English professional football coach and former player who is the Director of Football at EFL League Two club Rotherham United.
McClaren began his coaching career with Oxford United, before joining Derby County in 1995. In 1999, McClaren was hired by Manchester United to be Brian Kidd's replacement as Alex Ferguson's assistant manager. He held that position for two years, until he was hired as manager of Middlesbrough. During his tenure, Middlesbrough won their first major trophy, the League Cup in 2004. They were also UEFA Cup runners-up in 2006. McClaren was appointed manager of the England national team in August 2006, but was dismissed a year later after England failed to qualify for UEFA Euro 2008, with his tactics and player selections being subject to strong media criticism.
In 2008, McClaren was appointed manager of Dutch club Twente, with whom he won the club's first ever Eredivisie championship in 2010. Soon after, he took over at VfL Wolfsburg in Germany, though he was dismissed mid-season due to poor results. After a short spell as manager of Nottingham Forest, he returned to Twente in 2012. His second stint with Twente was less successful than his first, however, and McClaren resigned in early 2013. He returned to Derby later that year, leading the club to the play-offs in the 2013–14 season, but the club failed to win promotion, and he was dismissed in 2015. He was soon appointed head coach of Newcastle United, but was dismissed after less than a year after winning only six of his 28 Premier League matches in charge. He had a second spell as Derby manager from October 2016 to March 2017, and, in 2018, McClaren was appointed manager of Queens Park Rangers, before being dismissed in April 2019. He returned to management in 2024 as head coach of the Jamaica national team but resigned after failing to gain automatic qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
McClaren was born on 3 May 1961 in Fulford, York, the son of Margaret (née Bogg) and Brian McClaren who had married the previous year. Described as "Yorkshire born and bred", McClaren's ancestors worked variously as miners, brewers, cotton mill workers, labourers and farmworkers, as well as in domestic service.
As a child, McClaren attended Nunthorpe Grammar School after passing his eleven-plus, preferring it over a closer school because of the emphasis which was placed on sports. In order to attend, he had to cycle a daily four-mile round trip across York. This is cited as an example of his determination to succeed in sport. At school, he played rugby, tennis, squash and was captain of the school's football team. He also played for York Boys under-15 team and represented the county of Yorkshire. Playing as midfielder, McClaren is remembered as being a "tidy" player, "skilful on the ball" and "head and shoulders above the rest."
As a player, McClaren was a midfielder who spent most of his career in the lower leagues of English football. The bulk of his playing career was with Hull City, who he joined in 1979 at the age of 18 after leaving school, He went on to play 178 games scoring 16 goals before leaving in 1985. He then played for Derby County between 1985 and 1988, making 25 appearances, with the team winning the second division football league during this time.
During 1987, he joined Lincoln City (on loan) making only eight appearances. In 1988, he moved to Bristol City and played 61 times, scoring two goals. He joined his final club, Oxford United, in 1989. He played 33 times for Oxford, before an injury forced him to retire in 1992.
After retiring from playing, McClaren began his coaching career as a youth and reserve team coach at Oxford United, where Denis Smith was manager. He moved back to Derby County in 1995, where he was assistant manager to Jim Smith. The pair won promotion to the Premier League in their first season in charge, establishing themselves in this division and later enjoyed further consolidation in the top flight.
In early 1999, McClaren moved to Manchester United as assistant to Alex Ferguson, replacing Brian Kidd. At the time, he was so little known that he was introduced by United chairman Martin Edwards as "Steve McClaridge", perhaps confusing him with the former Leicester City striker Steve Claridge. His first half-season was distinguished by United winning the treble, consisting of the Premier League title, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League. He developed the reputation as one of the most tactically astute coaches in the country, using modern methods such as video analysis and sports psychologists. United later won the League titles in 2000 and 2001, thus ensuring they won every title contested while McClaren was at the club.
In October 2000, McClaren was made a coach in the England national team by caretaker-manager Peter Taylor. He retained the position under permanent manager Sven-Göran Eriksson until November 2002, combining the job with his roles at club level. However, he returned to assist Eriksson as assistant manager shortly before UEFA Euro 2004 as Brian Kidd had undergone surgery for prostate cancer. He remained in the role up to and including the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals.
At the end of the 2000–01 season, McClaren began looking for a managerial job, having decided his chances of succeeding Ferguson at Old Trafford were slim; at the time, Ferguson was planning to retire the following summer, but would ultimately remain in charge of United for a further 11 seasons. With a positive reputation and closely linked with three Premier League vacancies, Middlesbrough chairman Steve Gibson won the race to appoint him after McClaren turned down Southampton and West Ham United. His appointment came after the resignation of former Manchester United captain Bryan Robson, who had been in charge of the Teesside club for seven years and established them as a Premier League club. In his first season, Middlesbrough reached the FA Cup semi-final, knocking out his previous employers Manchester United in the fourth round, but lost 0–1 to Arsenal. They finished 12th in the league, a small improvement on the previous season's 14th-place finish. The following season brought another modest improvement, this time finishing 11th, although they had been in higher positions – and the race for a UEFA Cup place – for most of the season.
In the 2003–04 season, McClaren guided Boro to victory in the League Cup with a 2–1 win over Bolton Wanderers in the final. This was the club's first-ever major honour and also guaranteed them qualification for a European competition for the first time in their 128-year history. In the following close season, McClaren was able to attract proven players Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Michael Reiziger and Mark Viduka to Middlesbrough. The signings paid dividends as the club reached the round of 16 in the UEFA Cup, having beaten more experienced sides such as Lazio, before being eliminated by Sporting CP. The club finished in seventh position in the Premier League – their best finish since 1975 – ensuring qualification for the UEFA Cup for a second successive season.
The 2005–06 season proved to be the most eventful of McClaren's tenure at Middlesbrough. The club endured mediocre league form, losing at home to local rivals Sunderland (who finished the season relegated with just three wins from 38 games) and suffering a 7–0 thrashing at Arsenal, putting the club in relegation form. During a 4–0 defeat at home to Aston Villa, a Middlesbrough fan ran onto the pitch and threw his season ticket at McClaren signifying his disgust at the club's performances. Boro eventually finished in a secure 14th place but enjoyed greater success in the cup competitions, reaching the latter stages of both the FA and UEFA Cups. They lost 0–1 to West Ham United in the FA Cup semi-finals. In the UEFA Cup, Middlesbrough were losing on aggregate in the second legs of both the quarter and semi-final ties against Basel and Steaua București respectively. After McClaren substituted defenders with attackers, Boro produced two spectacular four-goal comebacks in both ties to reach the final. In the final, however, Middlesbrough were outclassed by Sevilla and lost 4–0.