Lay off McClaren, says Bilic
Steve McClaren may find himself out of a job if England do not qualify
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Friday, 19, Oct 2007 03:43
Under-fire England boss Steve McClaren has found an unlikely ally in Croatia coach Slaven Bilic, who has called on the press to leave his opposite number alone.
McClaren has been vilified in the media this week following his side's second defeat of the qualifying campaign in Moscow, which leaves the Three Lions on the brink of missing out on a major championship for the first time since 1994.
But despite the 2-1 defeat, Bilic - who masterminded a 2-0 win over England in Zagreb a year ago - said his money is on McClaren, not Russia coach Guus Hiddink, to be in Austria and Switzerland next summer.
"I don't know, I think England [will qualify]," Bilic told Sky Sports, when asked who he thought would join Croatia from group E at the finals in 2008.
"For me, England are the better side, although I respect Russia at the end of the day as they are the only team that we haven't scored against."
Bilic also spoke out against media commentators who have re-started the 'McClaren out' campaign that had started to gather pace earlier this year following a run of five matches without a win between October 2006 and March 2007.
Five consecutive 3-0 wins in competitive fixtures silenced the former Middlesbrough manager's critics then, but the heartbreaking defeat at the Luzhniki Stadium means the heat has been turned back up.
"You should leave him to work in peace," Bilic remarked.
"England are still in with a chance. It wouldn't be a surprise for me if Israel stops Russia."
If Hiddink can engineer a victory for his side in Tel Aviv, it will effectively mean England are out of the running for qualification.
Either way, McClaren must find a way to beat Bilic's side at Wembley next month, otherwise a place in the top two of the group is almost impossible.