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England manager Steve McClaren believes he still has the support of his players, despite the disappointing 0-0 draw in Israel.
Newspaper reports claim that McClaren and striker Wayne Rooney were involved in an altercation after the Euro 2008 qualifier in Tel Aviv.
“I am absolutely 100% convinced the players are still playing for me,” said the under-fire McClaren.
“I feel as though the effort is there but they are not happy because they are not winning and not scoring goals.”
Rooney and McClaren are alleged to have argued in the dressing room after the game but are now thought to have resolved any differences.
The goalless draw in Israel means England are now three points behind second-placed Russia and five behind Group E leaders Croatia, with seven games left to play.
McClaren’s side have now gone five games without a win and having managed only one goal during that time.
“People must produce. They must perform. They know that,” said McClaren. “But it is too early to say what the team against Andorra is going to be.
“People are just reacting at the moment. I have to reflect and look in the players’ eyes.”
Asked specifically about reports of a rift with Rooney, McClaren insisted there had been no fall out.
“It is an absolute load of rubbish,” McClaren told Sky Sports News. “I don’t read many newspapers, but what I have been hearing and there are two or three things which are an absolute load of rubbish.
“People are just trying to stir things and we are angry and disappointed about them.
“If it was true, yes, you could accept that, but it’s an absolute load of rubbish.
“The belief and the togetherness of the squad has never been better.
“What happens in the dressing room is private and stays private and I don’t want to discuss that, but to say there is a rift between me and Wayne Rooney is absolutely ridiculous.
“We are professional together, we get on well with each other and I have great respect for him and he has for me.
“And it is an absolute load of rubbish to say there is a rift.”
Skipper John Terry revealed that the coach had expressed hgis frustration with the players after they walked off the pitch on Saturday.
“It certainly felt like a defeat walking into the dressing room after the game. It was dead,” said Terry. “The manager had his rant and rave and rightly so.
“What happened in there stays inside the dressing room. That’s between us and we’ll talk about it a lot more.
“But it was mainly just sheer silence amongst the lads and more frustration within ourselves that we haven’t come away with three points.
“I said in the build-up to the game that a draw would not be good enough for us, which it isn’t.
“We are very disappointed, after the way we played and the chances we created, that we haven’t come away with the three points.”
Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard, one of the players whose recent performances have come under scrutiny, admitted England may have to win all of their games to qualify.
“We have to be realistic. We know we have to win a good proportion of our remaining games – if not every one,” he stated.
“We have a lot of home games to come at the new Wembley and we can’t be negative about things and get our heads down. We all know there is a great deal of work to be done to get to where we want to be in 2008.
“Most definitely we’ve got the players in the squad capable of doing that and now it’s important we stand up and be counted and do the business.
“We’re in one of those patches now where it’s not coming but it’s not for the want of trying.
“People can talk all they like about waiting for it to come but we’re trying to make it happen. It’s as simple as that.”
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