IN A stage-managed show of commitment, Steve McClaren publicly put pen to paper on a new four-year contract as Middlesbrough boss before reiterating a burning desire to one day manage England.

McClaren is one of the Englishmen - along with Sam Allardyce and Alan Curbishley - continually touted as a successor to Sven Goran Eriksson when the Swede leaves after this summer's World Cup.

And, even after finally signing the new deal which ties him to the Riverside Stadium until 2009, McClaren still admitted that one day he harbours hopes of taking charge of his country.

But, for now and for the foreseeable future, the Boro boss is focused on trying to transform the ailing fortunes of his team who have plummeted down the Premiership table this season.

"I have just committed myself to Middlesbrough, I have just signed a new contract and all I'm concentrating on is getting Middlesbrough back up the Premiership and an important cup tie on Saturday," said McClaren, whose new deal does not include a clause that would release him to take over England.

"England is not an issue. It's every player, every manager and every coach's ambition to play, coach or manage at the top level. There's no higher level than representing your country. But it's all hypothetical to talk about that.

"My day-to-day thoughts are on Middlesbrough and winning matches for Middlesbrough. There's no way I can think about anything else.

"I don't want to comment on that when my commitment is here."

A tricky FA Cup tie at Championship outfit Coventry City today represents an opportunity for McClaren's side to forget about their poor form in recent months and prove a training break in Marbella this week has been worthwhile.

That excursion to the Costa del Sol, designed to relax as much as prepare the squad for the months ahead, was interrupted on Tuesday night when chief executive Keith Lamb revealed a contract everyone had been led to believe had been signed had not.

As the club's fans bombarded message boards and phone-ins to voice their concern, Lamb and chairman Steve Gibson made moves to play down the farce.

Yesterday, unlike in November, when the initial press conference was called to announce the contract signing, the paperwork lay in front of McClaren, who moved to dispel the suggestion he had deliberately delayed penning the new long-term deal.

"Myself and the chairman, for the past four-and-a-half years, have had an excellent working relationship," he said.

"There's great trust between each other and last November we agreed a new deal that takes us on until 2009.

"We shook hands on that deal. That, for him and myself, was as good as me or him signing on the dotted line.

"There was one small issue in the contract that needed to be sorted, that was purely a taxation issue and not a football one. But a deal is a deal and we have backed that.

"I have reaffirmed my commitment to this contract and to this football club. There was never an issue in the first place and hopefully that is the end of it."

Boro's failure to win any of their last nine Premiership fixtures has increased the pressure on the shoulders of McClaren, while it is also a run of form that has led to the critics questioning why he is one of the front-runners to succeed Eriksson.

But McClaren, who took over on Teesside in the summer of 2001 after leaving his post as Sir Alex Ferguson's assistant at Manchester United, feels a lot of the cynicism is unjustified.

"I was disappointed because I am proud of what I have achieved," said McClaren, who has led Boro to the club's first ever trophy and highest Premiership finish in the five seasons he has been in charge.

"I'm proud of where I have come from, proud of the past five years I've worked alongside Sven with England and some of the top players around.

"I'm also proud of what I have achieved at this club. For people to write and criticise me is disappointing but it doesn't affect me too much."