Steve McClaren is from now on the former coach of England.

The Yorkshire native was sacked after England’s latest defeat against Croatia, a loss which cost them a qualifying spot for the 2008 European Championship hosted by Austria and Switzerland.

McClaren’s team needed just a point to qualify for the final tournament, but they failed to even draw with Croatia and eventually lost 2-3 at home on Wednesday night. This is the first time since the 1994 World Cup that England missed the finals of a major tournament.

"At a meeting this morning, the FA Board unanimously decided to terminate the contract of England head coach Steve McClaren with immediate effect," FA chairman Geoff Thompson said.

"The board also terminated the contract of assistant coach Terry Venables.

"Chief Executive Brian Barwick has been given authority to identify the new head coach and to report back to the Board with his recommendation,” Thompson added.

Barwick, the man who appointed McClaren as England’s coach said that he doesn’t regret it. “He tried his hardest,” he added.

The former manager of English Premiership team Middleborough, McClaren succeeded Sven-Göran Eriksson on 1 August 2006 at the helm of England’s national team. He had signed a four-year contract up to the World Cup in 2010, but completed only 18 months.

At Middleborough McClaren led the lads to their only trophy to date - the 2004 Carling Cup. They knocked out Arsenal on the way over two legs in the semi-final. He also took them to the 2006 UEFA Cup final, eliminating the champions of Switzerland and Romania on their way.

The English media has linked former Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho and current Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill to the available job.

With only a draw needed to qualify for the Euro 2008, England had the worst possible start as they went 2-0 down inside 14 minutes. Goalkeeper Scott Carson, who replaced Paul Robinson, has also failed to make at least an acceptable debut. And that wasn’t the only mistake McClaren has made.

He left on the bench the only man who could inspire England - David Beckham. And the Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder proved it by igniting the team’s second – half fight back during which they managed to equalize through a penalty from Frank Lampard and a goal from Peter Crouch, who volleyed an excellent pass from Becks.

With the 2-2 draw England was qualified, but the Croatians weren’t ready to give up. With 13 minutes left of the match, Mladen Petric scored with a shot from 25 yards to ensure Russia’s qualification. The Russians have won 1-0 in Andorra.