Steve McClaren leaves Manchester United to become new manager of Jamaica

Steve McClaren has bagged himself a new job - as the head coach of Jamaica.

McClaren has left his role as Erik ten Hag's assistant coach at Manchester United to join up with the Reggae Boyz in a shock new role.

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The president of the Jamaica Football Federation, Michael Ricketts, said: "We are truly elated to announce the appointment of Mr McClaren as head coach of the Reggae Boyz.

"We are confident we made the right decision and we are looking forward to him guiding out nation towards the 2026 FIFA World Cup."

McClaren also expressed his excitement over taking the job, saying: “I am extremely proud and excited to take up the position of head coach for the Jamaica men’s national team.

“I had no hesitation in accepting a position that is ideally suited to me at this stage of my career.

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“Prior to returning to Manchester United for a second spell, I spent time at FIFA as a Technical Advisor on their Global Eco Analysis project.

“Jamaica was one of the teams I worked with and I quickly came to realise the potential the country possessed.

“In the years since, that potential has grown significantly and there is every reason to believe that with continued hard work and development a bright future lies ahead.”

Jamaica had been without a head coach since the end of last month after Icelandic coach Heimir Hallgrimsson resigned.

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The Caribbean nation suffered a shoddy campaign at the Copa America where they finished bottom of their group following three defeats out of three.

Steve Bruce was also in contention for the vacancy and had told talkSPORT that he was desperate to return to work after being sacked as West Brom boss in October 2022.

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But Jamaica have decided to hire McClaren, who will now depart his position at United after joining alongside Ten Hag in the summer of 2022.

It was the second time he was hired as a No. 2 at Old Trafford, having first been picked for the job in 1999 under Sir Alex Ferguson.

The former Newcastle, Derby County and Middlesbrough boss was also in contention for the Nigeria job.

The African country had held talks with the 63-year-old, who has opted to move to the Caribbean instead.

McClaren has not held a head coach role since 2019 when he was QPR manager, a job he held for one season.

The former England boss has a wealth of experience around Europe coaching teams, including Twente where he won the Eredivisie in 2010, and German club Wolfsburg.

He has had varying degrees of success across English football, too, helping Middlesbrough reach the UEFA Cup final in 2006 against the odds before losing to Sevilla in the final.

It helped him earn the England job, which proved disastrous as the star-studded Three Lions side failed to qualify for Euro 2008. He was promptly sacked as manager.

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At the time, his tenure was the shortest of all time in the England post after 18 matches in charge over 16 months, though that was later beaten by Sam Allardyce, who took charge of one game across 67 days.

But McClaren's ability as a coach has never been called out, having worked with some of the best in the sport.

His predecessor at England, Sven-Goran Eriksson, was praiseworthy, saying: "I have worked closely with Steve ever since I came to England and know how good a coach he is.

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"I have no doubt that he has all the credentials to be very successful in the job and wish him all the best."

His old boss Ferguson also said: "Steve has a character and a hunger to do very well, he always has had that. He has always wanted to succeed and make the very most of himself, and now he has the perfect opportunity to do that."