Steve McClaren

Unless a lot of so called experts are wrong and they are often wrong, Steve McClaren is expected to be appointed the new Derby County 'Head Coach' very soon.

There are a lot of cries and protests from fans and I'm not one who had him at the top of the list as the man for the job.

He is without doubt a coach that is respected in the game. The former Rams fringe player no doubt played a part in the club finishing sixth in the Premier League and we have been in decline ever since.

After he left us for Manchester United the rot set in and Jim Smith was never able to find an adequate replacement.

He then went on to Middlesbrough where if you look at the record books it shows him as their best ever manager in terms of cup finals and league positions. An awful spell as England saw him ridiculed and he moved on to success with Twente winning the Dutch League. That was no mean achievement in a Division that includes teams like Feyenord, Ajax and PSV. Wolfsburg wasn't quite the same success and neither was his stint at Nottingham Forest.

The spell as Forest manager is what most people are basing their judgement on. He took a team that had for the last two seasons been knocking on the door of Premier League Football and managed to leave them in the bottom half of the Championship.

I think we need to look at that spell with greater scrutiny. There is absolutely no doubt that Billy Davies has an ability to lift players and get them performing to a level that other managers struggle to do. His re-appointment last season showed that when they narrowly failed to make the play offs. Preston and Derby have failed to match what they did under Davies since he left them. People might also question McClarens choice of coaching staff and the signing of players well past their best in Boateng and Greening too!

He left Forest waiving his right to compensation and with his reputation damaged. Surprisingly axed by Twente during his second spell, Harry Redknapp employed him as a coach at QPR. Love or Hate Harry he knows his onions and on radio this morning was stating how great a coach McClaren is and not wanting him to leave.

In my opinion he is without doubt a very good coach, however that doesn't equate to being a good manager. If he is appointed as Head Coach and not manager, the real decision to get right will be who is going to be the Director of Football and exactly what role they will play in the day to day running of the club!