Steve McClaren faces fight to keep Wolfsburg job

[Rappy Veteran]

Former England manager Steve McClaren is fighting for his future at German side Wolfsburg after he admitted they had "hit rock bottom".

McClaren's team were booed off after losing to Energie Cottbus in Germany's DFB-Pokal cup competition on Wednesday.

Wolfsburg have struggled since the Englishman took over in May and currently lie 13th in the Bundesliga.

McClaren admitted: "This club needs changes. They may be drastic, but I cannot control them."

He added: "I don't know how these changes are going to look precisely. Nobody knows what will happen in the coming days.

"We have got to take a decision quickly. Now is the time, during the winter break, to clean things up."

The 3-1 home defeat by Cottbus, who were relegated form the Bundesliga last season, could prove to be the final straw.

"It was simply not good enough and the first half of the season was not good enough," McClaren said.

"I am disappointed, frustrated. We have problems in the dressing room, problems on the field. We have hit rock bottom."

McClaren moved to Wolfsburg after leading Dutch side FC Twente to their first ever Eredivisie title last season.

That success appeared to have finally exorcised the ghosts from his troubled England reign, where he was dubbed "the wally with the brolly" after seeing the national side's Euro 2008 qualifying hopes ended by Croatia in the rain at Wembley.

But his future at Wolfsburg now appears to be hanging by a thread, with the club's managing director Dieter Hoeness refusing to make any guarantees.

When asked by a German newspaper if McClaren's job was safe, Hoeness replied: "I cannot say that yet."

He added: "We are going to have to discuss everything. I can assure you that I cannot sleep well. I don't think I will be going on holiday - our plans for Christmas have changed."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/9316615.stm

[Steven P. Administrators]

Managers don't get nearly enough time to build a team these days, I think the last in the Premier League have to be Moyes, Ferguson and Wenger.

It's a shame what the game has come to.