When Steve McClaren attempted to leave a press briefing at lunchtime on Friday, he found himself pushing impotently against a locked Soho Square door. For all he insists that the door to his England squad remains ajar for David Beckham, the reality is that smiling Steve has added an extra deadlock and melted down the keys.

What other message could be drawn from the 24-man list McClaren has drawn up for Euro 2008 qualifiers against Macedonia and Croatia? Deprived of back-up right midfielder Aaron Lennon by a tear to the Tottenham youngster’s cartilage and short of a holding player following Owen Hargreaves’ fibula break, England’s new manager not only avoided selecting Beckham as a replacement for either, he made it clear that the Real Madrid man was not even close to a recall. He is so far out in the cold these days it must be brass monkeys for Golden Balls.

McClaren’s Hargreaves replacement would be Scott Parker, returned to the squad after more than two years of absence. Being considered for the holding role against Macedonia on Saturday are Parker, Michael Carrick, Ledley King or “even Phil Neville”. “I haven’t decided who plays there yet,” McClaren said. Steven Gerrard is likely to start in Beckham’s old position on the right and McClaren made clear his pecking order should an alternative to the Liverpool captain be required. He could either move one of his existing midfielders to the flank or go for a right winger. McClaren’s contenders would be Lennon (once fit), Shaun Wright-Phillips or Jermaine Pennant, who is “knocking on the door”. In fact, a 17-year-old appears to be further up the bouncer’s queue than Beckham. McClaren was quick to distance himself from the decision to take Theo Walcott to the World Cup, but the youngster’s cameos for Arsenal have been sufficient to put him back in the England reckoning.

“There is no David Beckham,” McClaren said on Friday. “I made my intentions clear from the beginning. I said all along the door’s not closed and it’s still not closed. He’s somebody we’ve considered, but when I look at that right-hand side Steven Gerrard has done a very good job. I said when I named the first squad that I was looking to the future. We have Shaun Wright-Phillips, who is in, and Jermaine Pennant, who is knocking on the door and doing very well at Liverpool. I see three young players I want to keep involved in and around the squad. Walcott’s certainly one we will look at for the future.

So, Beckham: England’s fifth or sixth choice right midfielder. It may not be an epithet the footballer’s advisors bring up when seeking to keep their client on galactico wages in contract renegotiations at Real Madrid. Beckham’s descent from the heavens is spectacular. It is astonishing to think that a player who crosses the ball better than any other in the world has a five-a-side team ahead of him in the queue for a spot on McClaren’s right wing.

The message is clear and McClaren certainly did not feel he had to pass it on personally. There has been no phone call to ask Beckham how his attempts to displace Jose Antonio Reyes from Real’s starting XI were progressing. There has been no contact in the weeks since omitting the outgoing captain from the squad for his opening match against Greece. Beckham’s reaction to losing his England place has been to make dignified noises about the new manager’s right to select the players he thinks best, and to work extra-hard in Spain. If McClaren has noticed, he is doing a good job of not letting on.

“I haven’t spoken to him since [dropping him], no,” the manager said. “I’ve said all I need to say on David Beckham. I am watching him along with a lot of other players, be it young, old or middle-aged as a footballer can be. He’s one of them but I would never draw a line under it.”

Where McClaren would like to draw a line is under his own agent’s views on corruption in domestic football. Colin Gordon’s claims that illicit transfer deals had made the English game “the dirty man of Europe” have infuriated his foremost client and McClaren issued a statement dissociating himself from Gordon’s opinions. After refusing to answer questions on the subject of bungs (“I am not joining in with that debate”) McClaren also declined to say whether he would be retaining Gordon’s services.

His immediate search is for a further six points in Euro 2008 qualifying group E. Next week’s trip to Zagreb will provide McClaren’s toughest test as England manager and Macedonia were sufficiently difficult to deal with four weeks ago to suggest Saturday’s return match at Old Trafford cannot be taken lightly. Srecko Katanec has called up Stevica Ristic, a Serbian-born striker who has been prolific in Macedonian domestic football, and said “we’ll fight with no respect for England because we have nothing to lose.” McClaren has a new attacking option of his own. This week delivers a first opportunity to work as Wayne Rooney’s senior coach, with the 20-year-old finally available following suspension for his red card in Germany. Even by the jelly-brained standards of this country’s most fickle pundits, the reaction to Rooney’s having one or two substandard games for Manchester United has been extraordinary, with some offering the risible thesis that England’s wonder boy is a ‘player in crisis.’ Rooney’s last competitive goal for England was at Euro 2004: when, McClaren was asked, was his last good game for England?

“I think he’s contributed whenever he’s played, given his best,” said the manager, but not before offering a long pause for the anti-Rooney lobby to seize upon. “It’s difficult to say when it was.” McClaren continued. “To me he’s always been one of the best players, who opponents have feared.” An automatic choice? “Yes.”

“I think you give him the freedom to go and express himself. Wayne Rooney is a world-class player and he is a team player, and he has a great will to win. They are fantastic ingredients in any football player. That’s his strength and that’s what Wayne has got to do, play to his strengths.”

• Additional reporting: Jonathan Northcroft