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England manager Steve McClaren has dismissed reports claiming the players were unhappy with his tactics ahead of the European Championship qualifier with Macedonia at Old Trafford on Saturday.
According to a report in The Mirror, several senior England players were unhappy about the use of a new 3-5-2 formation and approached McCalren with a view to using the more familiar 4-4-2 system.
However, McClaren has denied such a meeting took place and said the report had undermined his preparations for the game.
“It really disappoints me to read the headline in a certain newspaper this morning,” said McClaren.
“The players do not pick the team.
“It disappoints me to read that the players have had a meeting.
“The players did not have a meeting, they do not pick the team.
“I hate anything that hampers any preparation to a game.”
McClaren refused to rule out adopting a 3-5-2 system against Macedonia.
“We have to look at different ways,” the England coach added.
“We’ve had two sessions with 3-5-2 and it’s a system we can go to.
“We’ve got the players to use that system and who are very comfortable at using that system.
“It’s something we may use in the future. I said at the beginning that we will try different things.
“We won’t be static in our formation. We’ve already proved we can play 4-4-2.
“We may see 3-5-2 this weekend, next Wednesday against Croatia or in the future.”
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