For a man who clings to positives like a crutch, it must have been galling for Steve McClaren to accept the verdict of the crowd who booed his players off after Spain’s 1-0 win at Old Trafford last night. The England head coach deviated from his usual script by accepting that his side had underperformed and were deserving of derision after Andrés Iniesta’s second-half goal condemned them to a first home defeat since November 2003.

In the wake of a second loss in three matches, the questions over McClaren’s position will last longer than the deep midwinter chill, though for the first time in his brief reign he pointed the finger at his players. “There were a few performances that were not up to their usual standards,” McClaren said. “Nobody’s blind to the fact that we lacked that quality in the final third, the final ball and final cross that wins you matches. The attitude and the effort were there, it was the quality.

“It’s disappointing to lose, obviously, and I can understand the reaction. We finished on a low, we know that. It’s a huge disappointment and we can’t get away from that. If we lose at Old Trafford we expect and understand that reaction.”

Gary Neville, however, disagreed vehemently, criticising the fans who booed the team off. “You expect that with England nowadays,” the Manchester United full back said. “It’s easy to boo England. The fans come along and are entitled to do what they want, but I’m very lucky I play for a club where the supporters are more accommodating with the players and the performances.

Expert View

Coming up short, technically, is at the root of England’s problem. They do everything in a rush

Tony Cascarino

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BACKGROUND

• No answers to Spanish inquisition

• Listless England are left with little to go on

• McClaren fails to come up with worthwhile solution

• Nearly men struggle for X-factor as Sven ghost proves hard to exorcise

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• Listless England are left with little to go on

• McClaren fails to come up with worthwhile solution

“With England, though, it’s always been the same. You lose a game and you get booed.”

McClaren’s defence began with the absence of six first-choice players through injury, though that does not excuse the way in which he deployed his depleted resources. With the right-footed Phil Neville at left back and no midfield player in front of him, England looked disjointed from the outset.

“It’s not an excuse, but there were six or seven players missing who would have been in the starting line-up,” McClaren countered. “It was about looking at Kieron Dyer, Jonathan Woodgate and Ben Foster, who are three positives who will strengthen the squad.”

The statistics make grim reading, however. It is four matches and five months since his side tasted victory — an unconvincing 1-0 win against the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia in Skopje — and his seven-game reign has yielded just three wins in total. Although calls for his head are hysterical given that the European Championship qualifying campaign remains in its infancy, they will gather momentum if England fail to win their group E qualifier away to Israel next month.

Even for Spain, victory was regarded as pyrrhic in some quarters. After a calamitous start to their Euro 2008 campaign, some of the country’s media descended on Manchester praying for a defeat that would end the reign of Luis Aragonés, their coach. As it was, cleared of racist conduct yesterday by a Spanish court over his infamous rant about Thierry Henry in October 2004, he was just about the only man to enjoy a profitable day.

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