MIDDLESBROUGH manager Steve McClaren offered a glimpse into the intense pressure of football management as he spoke of a game 'destroying' confidences and making or break individuals.

McClaren handed some words of comfort to beleaguered Blackburn boss Mark Hughes after seeing his side trounce Rovers 4-0 on Saturday.

Hughes has endured a torrid week - seeing his tenure as Wales manager end with back-to-back defeats against England and Poland and then watching his club side thrashed at home.

And McClaren, who was the architect of two of those defeats in his dual role as England coach and Boro boss, knows all about the trials and tribulations of being a manager.

In his first season in charge at the Riverside in 2001/2002 he presided over four straight losses, starting his managerial career in the worst possible fashion.

He said: "A week in football sometimes destroys you like that. I'm sure in the future there'll be good weeks for him and bad weeks for me.

"In club management it hits you; it comes at you every day. It's about getting over the highs and lows and it's important how you bounce back.You have to cope with it.

"In my first season as a manager we lost our first four games including a 4-0 defeat. It's all about how you handle those situations.

"It's come at a bad time for Mark but he's a very good manager he just needs to learn about his team and I'm sure he's learned a bit more today.

"Mark Hughes showed a lot of character as a player and he's also done the same as a manager." The architect of Hughes misery on Saturday was Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink who hit a second half hat-trick, but the performances of youngsters like Stewart Downing and Tony McMahon impressed the boss.

McClaren said: "Young players need confidence and to get that they need games.

"Downing's still got a long way to go. I'm excited by him and I'm excited by James Morrison and Tony McMahon and their debuts at old Trafford.

"If the kids keep coming through like this it's great for me."

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