Slav hits out at McClaren knockers

Slaven Bilic has hit out at those who have spoken badly of Newcastle boss Steve McClaren descrubing him as a “quality man, a great coach and manager.”

Slav’s Croatian team hardly helped the course of McClaren’s career when beating his England back in 2007 and denying them a route to Euro 2008.

Bilic, however, holds him in the highest regard saying:  ““I wouldn’t say we are friends but I met him a few times and he is a quality man

The manager – quoted in www.London.com added: “First of all I think he is a great coach and a great manager, and nobody can deny he is one of the most polite people in football.

“Criticism of him is totally unfair, all the way back to the England v Croatia game. They had so many injuries that night and suspensions. Rooney, John Terry, four or five or even six were out.

“Back then, we qualified three days before and so that was the relief we needed. Going there needing a point to qualify it could have been completely different. “I remember saying to my boys. You have to use a level of politeness.

“They lost, I went to take some shirts to sign for my sons and they didn’t change their attitude. “They showed class. Gerrard, Lampard, Beckham. They lost, they were gutted but they signed and smiled. That is what I liked about it.”