But Croatia’s victory left McClaren staring at the sack after his failure to guide England to Euro 2008 and the pair will come face-to-face on the touchline for the first time since then when Newcastle head to West Ham United on Monday night.
“They say what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger and it did nearly kill me, but I survived,” said McClaren. “It wasn’t a good night. But it was nothing about Croatia or Slaven, it was about England and myself.
“We got on very well. We have the same passion for football. He’s gaining huge respect in football, going from a player to national team boss and now club football and doing well. He’s the perfect fit for West Ham.”
He certainly DIDN'T survive the job ... he was sacked!
“It was the lowest I got,” said McClaren. “But you need these things and they happen for a reason. You either slink off or try to come back with more of a determination. It was very, very easy to want to prove people wrong – although it was difficult to get a job.
“I tried to poison his (Bilic’s) food in that first meeting after that game! I tried to trip him up! No, he was very humble and gracious. He spoke very well after that game and always has. We know it’s a sport; it’s not life or death – although it nearly was for me!
“What we have to keep showing is that spirit, togetherness and fight. We haven’t shown a lot else in terms of football because of the circumstance of being down to ten men in two games.
“Maybe we’ve been overly enthusiastic in showing that, but I think we had to do that. We have talked a lot about patience because we have looked at the fixture list and it was hard.
“What we have to do is grow, although it will be slow for various reasons. There is a transition here; it’s trying to change the culture and environment in the club and the town.
“I’m oblivious to some of the things that went on, so I’m a little bit naïve to that coming in. There is a lot of suspicion around everything and we’re trying to dispel that suspicion. We’re trying to change that perception, probably before we see results.”