There will be no grand reception such as Eriksson received back in January 2001. The Football Association say there will be just a photo-shoot. They would seem to prefer the transition between the two regimes to be as surreptitious as possible rather than that accompanied by cheerleaders toting pom-poms.

Rarely can the man deemed capable by his employers, the FA, of leading the national team from an ignominious exit in Germany 2006 to glory in Austria-Switzerland in two years' time, or South Africa four years hence, have arrived in less exalted circumstances.

It had not been a propitious prelude to what should be a man's proudest moment.

And to a degree, he has brought that upon himself.

Instead of bounding in as his own man and extolling a freshness of spirit, he seemingly comes complete with a complete hold of advisory baggage. There are more apparatchiks surrounding him than a Soviet premier of old. Clifford, employed by his "management company", is clearly a man of many talents, but ones more readily synonymous with damagelimitation or tawdry public episodes. Then there is Terry Venables, a "technical advisor", and, possibly, Alan Shearer, a link, we are told, between McClaren and the players. No doubt there will be sports psychologists to follow. And what about "blingbusters", too help with improving relationships between various factions in the England dressing room?

It's impossible to accept that this is all necessary.

Seeking wise counsel is one thing; a self-protectionism that borders on and implies fear of dealing with the realities of the job is quite another. Ultimately, McClaren will be judged on results, the style of play he advocates and whether he manages to induce the optimum from his players.

Lest we forget, it was not merely England's elimination by a poor Portugal team that damned Eriksson, but their wretched performances beforehand.

It won't have required a genius to enlighten McClaren that he must distance himself from Eriksson as expeditiously as possible. But Clifford appears determined to do the job for him. He is already attempting to persuade us that "at the end of the day, Steve was not running or selecting the team when Sven was manager".

Well, thanks for that, Max, but in the public's mind, no quick wash and spin can bring sparkling whiteness to the washing stains that have accumulated over five years.

He may not be an acclaimed foreigner, like Guus Hiddink, but crucially he is Anyone But Sven. The timing is opportune. In only 17 days' time, England have a friendly against Greece at Old Trafford. Next month, there are relatively straightforward European Championship qualifiers against Macedonia and Andorra.

McClaren would have to be seriously negligent if his teams, containing a new captain, possibly some new personnel and presumably some radical thinking on strategy, didn't portray him in a positive light.

The captaincy issue plays right into McClaren's hands.

There is healthy rivalry for the right to be David Beckham's successor, and John Terry, Steve McClaren and, for that matter, Gary Neville, would be worthy recipients of the armband. Where the new head coach must tread warily, though, is on Beckham's future, although for the moment that injury sustained against Portugal renders it an irrelevance. One suspects that in the Greece game the whole complexity of the midfield will come under scrutiny. Can Frank Lampard recover his Chelsea form?

Can Stewart Downing dominate the left as he has at club level? Can Joe Cole offer consistent evidence of his attributes? Will Michael Carrick's move to Manchester United mean that he will at last exhibit his prowess as a holding midfielder at international level that his displays at Tottenham promised.

And, just as crucially, how to deploy Wayne Rooney, and with whom, and how to quell those demons? On the latter point, McClaren's appointment does suggest that he will not indulge the striker.

The Manchester United man admits, in his autobiography that he and McClaren have "had our moments over the years. . . he had a right go at me after that Northern Ireland humiliation in Belfast.

He said I hadn't done my job right. My behaviour on the pitch hadn't been good. I agreed with him." He adds:

"He's a good coach, always smiling. I'm glad he's got the job. I think he was the best Englishman available."

It's a difficult balance to strike, a coach's relationship with players. The suspicion is that Eriksson granted his men, and particularly the star chamber, too much laxity. Yet, since Winterbottom and then Alf Ramsey first walked a line which is as difficult to tread as a suspected drunk driver under the examination of the cops, the response to your decision-making has always been familiar. You are revered rarely; derided constantly.

McClaren will need the courage of his own convictions rather than the coterie of advisors he has surrounded himself with, if he is to succeed and deliver the success the English public crave.