McClaren wants to model England on Chelsea

Steve McClaren wants to model his England side on Jose Mourinho's Chelsea.

The new manager, whose team face their first Euro 2008 qualifiers this week, said he wanted to forge closer links with Premier League clubs and had talked to the outspoken Portuguese coach after watching a Chelsea training session.

"I had a good chat with Jose. Having a team ethic is the most important thing. Since he came to this country, that's all he's talked about - the team ethic and the work ethic of the players.

"That's the model of great teams and that's what we want to be," McClaren told reporters.

"Mourinho is always an interesting character to talk to. I also had good chats with (Chelsea and England captain) John Terry and Frank Lampard.

"That's the kind of thing I believe is a vital part of the job, the relationship between England and the clubs.

He said he could learn a lot from the managers.

"You don't get to know the players like the managers and coaches at the clubs. They get to know every small detail about them.

"You watch them play and you pick up certain things, but what I want is a club atmosphere - a club England. My approach is to get a little closer and be more visible to the clubs and the players.

"All the clubs are happy to co-operate. We are borrowing their players and it's in their interests to know what I'm thinking and, when they come with England, that they are getting the right treatment and preparation," McClaren said.

McClaren, who took over from Sven-Goran Eriksson after England's quarter-final exit from the World Cup, had an impressive debut with a 4-0 mauling of Greece in a friendly this month.

The side face their first competitive outings under him with Group E qualifiers against Andorra and Macedonia on September 2 and 6

"I've told the players they are running two agendas," McClaren said.

"They're not just at a club, they are running the England agenda and I want them to run parallel."

McClaren has told Arsenal forward Theo Walcott that he must win a regular place with the Gunners to return to the England squad. The coach instead picked Everton's Andy Johnson.

"I spoke to Theo and said he needed games. That was why we put him in the U-21s," McClaren said.