Steve McClaren watches his team lose to Croatia

First there was the game against Croatia. England still had a chance of qualifying 获得参赛资格 for the Euro 2008 tournament 2008 年欧锦赛 if they got the right result but they lost 2-3 after what most people thought was a very poor performance.

There have been a lot of comments in the media about England football players not having enough passion for their national team. Captain Steven Gerrard assured everyone that the players were disappointed with the result.

Bouncing Back  From the player's point of view, we've got to take the criticism, get on with it and try and bounce back. Obviously we're disappointed at the moment but we've got to try and get it out of our system.   Steven Gerrard, England captain for the Croatia match

He said after the game, "From the player's point of view, we've got to take the criticism, get on with it （不灰心）继续努力, and try and bounce back 东山再起". "To get on with it" means to just continue and try and forget the disappointment and to "bounce back" means to recover from their bad performance and play well again.

He emphasised how disappointed the team were but insisted they've "got to try and get it out of our system 一吐为快, but it will be difficult." "To get something out of your system" also means to work through the bad feelings they have so they feel better afterwards.

As a result of their failure to qualify for the Euro 2008 tournament, Steve McClaren's position as head England coach became untenable 保不住, which means it became impossible for him to continue after such a big failure.

Honoured  I was honoured to be the England head coach for 18 months and I've enjoyed every minute. But I will learn from my failure.   Steve McClaren, former England coach

McClaren said he was "honoured 荣幸的 to be the England head coach for 18 months" – he was pleased and proud to have done the job. He also claimed he will "learn from" his failure – he will take this experience and try to do better next time he gets such an opportunity.

Now the race is on （选人）竟赛开始了 to find a new coach for the England team and there is a lot of speculation 揣测 about who will do the job.

Many people thought Premiership team Aston Villa's manager, Martin O'Neill would be good for the job but he apparently isn't interested. Jose Mourinho, the former 前任 Chelsea coach, would be a popular choice but reports say he wants a club position 俱乐部级(教练)职位 not a national post.

No Time Frame  I'm not deterred – I'm determined to get the right person. There is no time frame. We will see how long it takes.   Brian Barwick, FA's chief executive

Brian Barwick is the Football Association's chief executive 足联总裁 and he is responsible for helping to find a new coach for England. He stated he was "not deterred 害怕", he was not discouraged, by certain managers ruling themselves out 排除…的可能性 of doing the job.

He is in no rush to find a replacement saying "There is no time frame 时间表. We will see how long it takes". A time frame is a specific amount of time.

To make matters worse 雪上加霜的是 for England, they have also been drawn （分组）抽签 in the same World Cup qualifying group as Croatia for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Turn Round Our Fortunes  It's an opportunity with a new coach to see if he can turn round our fortunes against a very good team.   Brian Barwick, FA's chief executive

Brian Barwick remained positive about the draw saying "it's an opportunity with a new coach to see if he can turn round our fortunes 转败为胜 against a very good team". England certainly need their luck to turn from bad to good again.