Have you ever wondered where an England manager starts his coaching career? A day before he starts his new role as Head Coach, we look at how Steve McClaren made his way into coaching with Oxford, back in 1992.

Club manager Brian Horton was the first to spot the potential of the future England boss and hired him for free with the casual line: "Why don’t you take the kids on a Saturday morning?"

Horton, now manager of Macclesfield, recalls: "Steve was my player but he was struggling with a back injury. I knew from the dressing-room he was intelligent and thought about the game so I suggested he take our youth players on a Saturday morning to keep him occupied.

"I asked him if he wanted to learn about the coaching side of things and he was very keen. So I told him to take the kids in the youth team to see how he liked it. There was no question of him being paid any extra, he was on a player’s contract already and we couldn’t afford any more. But that where it all really started for him."

Within a few months, 30-year-old McClaren – a midfield player who had been signed by Horton for £5,000 from Bristol City – announced his retirement from playing and Horton formalised the arrangement, making him a full-time youth team coach.

Horton believes his humble beginnings coupled with coping with the superstars of Manchester United make McClaren perfect for the England job, which he will start in earnest when he arrives at Soho Square for his first day of work next week.

"He’s seen both sides of football," says Horton.

"Believe me, you need a lot of patience to be a youth team coach and that is a quality Steve has. I couldn’t do it. Alan Mullery used to have a rule that he would tell you something twice and if he had to tell you a third time, you’d be out on your ear. But youth team coaches can’t do that, you have to explain things five, six, seven times on occasions.

"I am sure that has held Steve in good stead. I went to a dinner with him when he was at Manchester United and he said one of the main jobs dealing with big names was keeping them happy. He said you can’t coach David Beckham or Roy Keane how to play, it’s a case of creating the right environment for them."

McClaren was promoted to Oxford’s reserve team manager and then enjoyed success as assistant-manager at Derby and Manchester United before getting his first managerial job at Middlesbrough.

Horton has been a league manager for 22 years and has known McClaren all that time.

"Well before I signed him for Oxford, I had him at Hull when I took over there as a player-manager.

He sat in midfield and passed the ball. If it wasn’t for his back, he would have had a far more successful playing career.

"He always had a chance of being a successful coach. He was organised and one of the people who helped run the players’ bar at Oxford. When I left the club to be Manchester City manager, I took my coach David Moss with me and I nearly took Steve as well. It’s lucky he didn’t join me. Instead he met Jim Smith and the rest is history as they say.

"It doesn’t seem two minutes since I had Steve at Hull when we had to train on park pitches. He’s earned his luck and learned about technology and psychology."

"He wasn’t born with a silver spoon in his mouth. He took a pay cut to start at the bottom of the ladder and so he deserves the rewards today."

Stay with TheFA.com tomorrow for exclusive coverage of Steve McClaren's first day