Former Newcastle United head coach reacts to Premier League return with Manchester United

McClaren has been appointed as Erik ten Hag’s new assistant coach at Manchester United alongside Mitchell van der Gaag.

Ten Hag, who took over from Ralf Rangnick as Man United boss on Monday, worked with McClaren as his assistant at FC Twente in the Dutch Eredivisie.

McClaren was Newcastle head coach during the 2015-16 season but was sacked following a 3-1 defeat to Eddie Howe’s AFC Bournemouth side at St James’s Park.

The Magpies sat 19th in the Premier League table when McClaren departed with 10 games to go and were ultimately relegated to the Championship at the end of the season.

The 61-year-old’s last coaching role was at Championship side QPR during the 2018-19 campaign but now he returns to Manchester United for the first time since 2001. McClaren spent two years as Sir Alex Ferguson’s assistant manager during a successful period at Old Trafford.

McClaren, Ten Hag and van der Gaag were all present at Selhurst Park as The Red Devils suffered a 1-0 final day defeat to Crystal Palace as they ended the Premier League season in sixth place, just nine points ahead of Newcastle.

"I thought I worked hard until I met Erik," McClaren said prior to his official appointment.

"His great strength lies not just in his attention to detail and organisation. He has a clear philosophy of how he wants to play football, the environment he wants to create."

A message from the Football Clubs Editor

Our aim is to provide you with the best, most up-to-date and most informative Newcastle United coverage 365 days a year.

This depth of coverage costs, so to help us maintain the high-quality reporting that you are used to, please consider taking out a subscription; sign up here.

Your support is much appreciated. Richard Mennear, Football Clubs Editor