Steve McClaren has hailed Owen Hargreaves as the 'glue' that
holds his England team together, and the man to get him out of a
sticky situation
After starring at the World Cup finals, the Bayern Munich
midfielder has installed himself as a key figure for a country that
had previously treated his inclusion in the squad with a great deal
of suspicion.
It may be no coincidence that in the four games he has missed due
to a broken leg, England have failed to win once in a poor run of
form that has seen McClaren become the victim of sustained
criticism.
In contrast, England's first three games under their new coach
witnessed three victories, with Hargreaves playing a selfless
holding role in allowing Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard to focus
on attacking responsibilities.
Thankfully for McClaren, the Bayern Munich star is expected to
return to the team when England play a crucial Euro 2008 qualifier
against Israel in March, and the under-fire boss has underlined the
importance of the player who gives cohesion to his midfield.
"The majority of big teams have someone in the middle of the park
who gel it all together," said McClaren.
"Claude Makelele does it at Chelsea, Roy Keane did it when I was at
Manchester United.
"They are the ones who do all the unseen work and provide the glue
that allows other players to go out and express themselves in a
more effective way than if that person wasn't there and they had
more responsibility.
"We have seen them [Gerrard, Lampard and Hargreaves] all play
together so few times.
"Hopefully, we will see it more in the future because certainly, in
the games he did play, Owen gave Frank and Steven more freedom to
play."
Hargreaves was the subject of national ridicule at times during
Sven Goran Eriksson's reign, and whatever the legacy of the
erstwhile national boss he was at least proved correct over the
midfielder's ability to shine at international level.
Indeed, McClaren has revealed that during his time as a key member
of Eriksson's backroom staff, he immediately became aware of
Hargreaves' value to the squad following his first cap in
2001.
"He was only young but it was obvious he was a different breed,
with a different mentality," McClaren added.
"That is one of the big reasons Sven stuck with him when he was
being criticised.
"He had that great belief, determination and mental strength to
want to improve and since that day I have seen him grow and
grow."