USA tour is no Mickey Mouse trip, McClaren

McClaren will fly out of Manchester Airport with the rest of the England squad later this afternoon but, after a host of late withdrawals, most of the country's biggest names will not be accompanying him.

Gary Neville became the latest high-profile player to pull out of the trip last weekend, joining an absentee list that already includes Paul Robinson, John Terry, Wayne Bridge, Rio Ferdinand, Jamie Carragher, Ledley King, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Kieron Dyer and Wayne Rooney.

The absence of so many established internationals has inevitably created an opening for some of the Premiership's lesser lights to stake their claim ahead of next summer's World Cup.

Charlton defender Luke Young, Fulham centre-half Zat Knight and Manchester United midfielder Kieran Richardson, who spent last season on loan at West Brom, are all expected to feature in this month's friendlies with the United States and Colombia.

After having unsuccessfully attempted to prevent Jermaine Jenas travelling, Souness openly questioned both the timing and purpose of the trip.

But, after defending the motivational value of the venture, McClaren dismissed any suggestion that the tour was devoid of merit.

"That's well wide of the mark," said the Middlesbrough manager. "Well wide. It's a great opportunity for any player to play for their country.

"It's an opportunity to look at some of the younger players. It's like club football - the team is ever-changing and, at international level, it's just the same.

"The FA and Sven, or whoever is in charge, are not just looking at the team going to the World Cup next year. They're also looking at the next European Championships and even the World Cup after that. They're looking at what's coming through."

While the likes of Knight and Richardson are extremely unlikely to feature in Germany next summer, they could have matured into seasoned internationals by the time the World Cup moves to South Africa in 2010.

Similarly, the likes of Glen Johnson, Michael Carrick, Peter Crouch and Andrew Johnson will be looking to use this month's tour to underline their own future credentials.

"I think if you ever need to induct young players into it (the England squad), the time to find out about them is when you go away on tour.

"It's a great opportunity for the coaches and the manager to look at these players and it's great for the young players to sample that environment. "You find out whether they can handle it now rather than thinking 'Oh, we've had the World Cup, what are we going to do now?'

"We'll already have had a look, so you've either said 'Yes they'll do it' or you've dismissed them. You're in a far better position to say 'He can do it, he's got the temperament', or 'He can't'."

While McClaren will spend the next three days getting acquainted with some of the country's leading youngsters, he already has first-hand knowledge of one of the squad's brightest lights.

Boro midfielder Stewart Downing will be hoping to win his second senior cap when England take on the United States on Saturday, after playing a leading role in his side's first top-seven Premiership finish this season.

McClaren has sought to downplay Downing's England ambitions in the past but, after watching the left winger develop both on and off the field in the last nine months, he is confident the Teessider is ready to mark his mark in the international arena.

"He's made terrific, rapid progress and I've been impressed with the way he's handled it," said the Boro boss. "But he's still got a lot to do before he can talk about playing consistently at the highest level.

"He's done that for a season, but he tired towards the end so I rested him. He still played 45 games at the age of 18 or 19 though. He's developed on the field and, off it, he's got better and better as well.

"He's starting to mature and he's handled the whole England thing perfectly as well. He hasn't been overawed at all."