McClaren admits he spent years seeking to repair his reputation after being booted out of the England job in 2006, but the 54-year-old says his own career is now very much rooted in the present.
McClaren said: "After the England job, I spent a lot of years trying to prove myself, then after that I spent a lot of time gaining experience. That is what I have been doing.
"I have tried a couple of times to come back but it is difficult for an England manager to come back and manage - Sir Bobby (Robson) didn't do a bad job but there were quite a few years in between.
"Hopefully those years have set me up to do that. You want to come back in the Premier League and if you want to pick a club, there are not many as big as Newcastle United in terms of potential.
"I've got the opportunity and it's something I've wanted since I've lived in this area.
"Where ever you go, you want to make it work. That is the difference. Before, it was drive and ambition and everything and now it's 'let's do the job'.
"Where ever I have been since then (England), I have said, 'that's it, I just want to do the job here and not have ambitions for anywhere else - and so I am here."