- Steve McClaren was appointed by Jamaica as their new manager back in July
- The former England boss is set to take charge of his first game on Friday night
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Steve McClaren took part in a bizarre video after his first training session as Jamaica manager.
Former England boss McClaren, 63, was a shock appointment by the Reggae Boyz in July after he left his role as Manchester United‘s assistant coach.
By taking the job, the Englishman has returned to management for the first time since he left QPR in April 2019, while it also saw him dip his toes back into international coaching after his ill-fated spell with the Three Lions ended in November 2007.
McClaren’s first challenge is CONCACAF Nations League games against Cuba and Honduras over the next week, with the 63-year-old having met his squad for the first time in recent days.
And, in a video shared on X by the Jamaican Football Federation that has since gone viral, McClaren was quizzed on how his first training session had gone.
Steve McClaren took part in a bizarre video after his first training session as Jamaica manager
McClaren was being quizzed on how his first training session with the Reggae Boyz had gone
The 63-year-old appeared confused as he tried to get the attention of another individual
McClaren was a shock appointment by Jamaica after leaving his role at Manchester United
It began when the interviewer said: ‘All right coach, big up!’, before McClaren exchanged a fist bump.
He was then quizzed on the session – with the interviewer also noting that McClaren seemed ‘very red in the face’ – but the 63-year-old appeared to be distracted and tried to get the attention of another individual as he said: ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,’ before he added: ‘What’s that? What’s that?’ as the pair touched thumbs.
McClaren looked confused as he surveyed the scene, until he said: ‘Big up. Big up,’ with the 63-year-old understood to be trying his hand at Jamaican Patois, a local dialect.
The former England boss eventually realised what word he had been looking for, which was ‘seal it up,’ as he returned to the original interviewer to give his thoughts on training.
McClaren added: ‘Yeah, it’s just to get the players… they had a long day yesterday so it’s not too much in the head a little bit, but (it was) just to get them lively, to get them in.
‘And, (to get) the spirit going into the competition. So it was intense, it was a good hour and (they) should be ready for tactics tomorrow.’
McClaren’s attempts to integrate with Jamaican culture and understand the local dialect is something that he has previous for.
Famously, when the 63-year-old was in charge of FC Twente, he bizarrely conducted an interview in English while speaking in a Dutch accent.
McClaren was doing his best to understand Jamaican Patois, which is a local dialect
The former England boss has taken over a team who lost all of their games at the Copa America
Jamaica are set to take on Cuba at home on Friday night, before they travel to Honduras for another clash on Tuesday.
McClaren has called up several British-based players to his squad, including the likes of Michail Antonio, Bobby Decordova-Reid and Ethan Pinnock.
He replaced Heimir Hallgrimsson, who resigned after Jamaica lost all three games in the group stage at this summer’s Copa America, with the Icelandic coach since taking the Republic of Ireland job.
