Steve McClaren Quits ‘In Tears’ After Jamaica Humiliated in World Cup Qualifying
Former England boss Steve McClaren was reduced to tears as he resigned after Jamaica failed to secure automatic qualification for next summer's World Cup.
Jamaica went into last night's decisive qualifier against Curacao in Kingston knowing victory would guarantee them a place at the tournament.
But they were left frustrated after they were held to a 0-0 draw against a nation with a population of just 156,000.
It makes Curacao the smallest country to ever qualify for a World Cup.
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Jamaica, who have only appeared at the tournament once before, back in 1998, will now have to navigate the play-offs.
After the disappointment of last night's result, McClaren abruptly announced his resignation as Jamaican manager.
And Jamaica's assistant manager Dean Gorre revealed just how deeply the failure had affected McClaren.
"Steve was crying," he said.
"It affected him that much."
Despite the setback, Jamaica have not lost all hope of playing in the United States, Canada and Mexico next summer.
They will have a second chance through the inter-confederation play-offs.
That tournament will take place in Mexico during the March international break, with six teams competing for two World Cup spots.
Four unseeded teams, Jamaica, Bolivia, Suriname and New Caledonia, will play semi-finals for the right to play a final.
The winners of those games will meet one of the two seeded nations, either Iraq or DR Congo.
Jamaica do not have to wait long to find out their opponents, with the draw set for November 20.
It is not the first time McClaren has failed to guide an international side to a major tournament.
As England boss, he missed out on Euro 2008 after a 3-2 defeat at Wembley to Croatia, on a night where his team just needed to avoid defeat.
The following day, both McClaren and his assistant Terry Venables were sacked in what the FA described as a unanimous decision.
Since then, McClaren has taken several club jobs, including at Derby County, Newcastle United and Queens Park Rangers.
However, the Jamaican role marked his return to international management.
Despite the disappointment, he remained dignified in his post-match press conference.
He said: "Over the last 18 months I have given everything I have to this job.
"Leading this team has been one of the greatest honours of my career.
"But football is a results business and tonight we have fallen short of our goal, which was to qualify from this group.
"It is the responsibility of the leader to step forward, take accountability and make decisions in the best interests of the team.
McClaren continued: "After deep reflection and an honest assessment of where we are and where we need to go, I have decided to step down as head coach of the Jamaican national team.
"Sometimes the best thing a leader can do is to recognise when a fresh voice, new energy and a different perspective is required to move this team forward."
Topics: Steve McClaren, Jamaica, Football, FIFA World Cup
James Taylor