Steve McClaren seeks Wembley redemption with Derby against QPR
Former England manager leads his side against Harry Redknapp's in play-off final
Steve McClaren plans to exorcise the ghosts of his Wembley nightmare by leading Derby County back into the Premier League with victory over QPR in the Championship play-off final on Saturday.
The stakes are sky-high at Wembley as McClaren's side face Harry Redknapp's QPR in the single richest club fixture in world soccer.
Given the vast financial rewards on offer to teams in the Premier League, it is estimated that a win in the second tier finale will be worth £120 million (HK$1.5 billion) to Derby and £80 million to QPR, whose revenue boost would be lower because if they do not go up they will still benefit from parachute payments after relegation in 2013.
We're a bit like the swan on the river - cool and calm on the surface but underneath paddling like hell
But amid the frenzied desire to secure the lucrative winning ticket in the promotion lottery, McClaren's tale of personal redemption lends a more human side to the dash for cash.
It will be McClaren's first time in the Wembley dugout since his underwhelming spell as England manager came to a farcical end with the coach lampooned as the "Wally with the brolly" after he huddled under an umbrella during a 3-2 defeat against Croatia that shattered his country's hopes of qualifying for Euro 2008.
McClaren has spent the past seven years attempting to rehabilitate his reputation via that title-winning spell in the Netherlands at FC Twente and less successful stints with Wolfsburg and Nottingham Forest.
McClaren is relatively sanguine about the abuse he took following his England exit and is even willing to joke about the umbrella incident.
"I won't be taking a bloody brolly," he said with a smile when asked if he was planning to guard against wet weather today.