"In the end, not qualifying for Euro 2008 comes up short," Barwick said. "Qualification for a major tournament is probably a minimum requirement."

The FA said it would immediately begin a search for a successor to McClaren but, with England having no scheduled matches before a friendly in France in March, has set no timeframe on the selection process.

Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill, who was a candidate for the position when McClaren got the job in the wake of the 2006 World Cup, is regarded as the best-placed candidate. Villa owner Randy Lerner has indicated that he will not stand in his way if he wants to take on the role.

The FA will inevitably also look at the possibility of approaching Jose Mourinho, who has been out of work since leaving Chelsea in September, but it must be doubtful whether he would want the job and whether the governing body would be able or willing to handle such a controversial figure.

McClaren, who stepped up from his former role as number two to Sven Goran Eriksson in the wake of the last World Cup, was handicapped from the start by a feeling that he was both a natural number two and a second-choice appointment, the FA having bungled approaches to both Guus Hiddink and Luiz Felipe Scolari.

Although McClaren refused to resign immediately after he and his players were booed off the Wembley turf by an angry capacity crowd, he did agree that he had to take responsibility for his squad's failure.

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