Don't blame me, furious Rooney tells McClaren

It was another dark night for English football here on Saturday and life did not get any easier for Steve McClaren after the game when it emerged that the England manager had a dressing room row with Wayne Rooney. The Manchester United striker is understood to have taken exception to being singled out by McClaren for England's woeful record in front of goal.

Rooney responded angrily when McClaren said that he had to shoulder the responsibility for an England goalscoring record that has seen them score just once in the last five games - none of which have been victories - culminating in the 0-0 draw with Israel. Rooney, 21, is understood to have come back at his manager with the response that he is not the only one in the team capable of scoring goals.

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An outburst from England's most prodigious talent normally accompanies their worst moments - it certainly did under Sven Goran Eriksson after 1-0 defeats in Spain in 2004 and Northern Ireland a year later - but it suggests that there are deeper problems with the squad.

Rooney was one of six England players picked out by McClaren at a team meeting on Wednesday as under-performing for the national team - John Terry, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Rio Ferdinand and Ashley Cole were also named - although the blunt approach does not seem to be working for England.

Rooney has not scored a goal in a competitive match for England since Euro 2004, a concern that is bound to be on McClaren's mind as his team trail third in Group E behind Croatia and Russia. While the match against the hapless Andorra on Wednesday in Barcelona is not expected to be a problem, there is no doubt that the two points dropped on Saturday have made qualification for Euro 2008 a serious issue.

With Michael Owen and Peter Crouch injured, McClaren has no option but to keep picking Rooney, although in Saturday's performance the striker looked jaded and lacking sharpness. He walked through the Ramat Gan stadium's mixed zone, where journalists speak to players, without stopping to talk. McClaren hinted in his post-match press conference that harsh words had been spoken in the dressing room after the match.

The England manager even admitted that his team had fallen well short of their billing as the country's so-called golden generation. "I never said they were great players," McClaren said.

With abusive chants from the England supporters about McClaren, as well as calls for him to be sacked, during the latter part of the game, he was given reassurances from Brian Barwick, the Football Association chief executive, yesterday that his job is safe. After Andorra this week, it will be the trip to Estonia on 6 June that tests the FA's resolve in keeping their beleaguered manager.

With Russia and Croatia in pole position in Group E, England must win all their home games if they are to have a chance of moving into one of the two qualification places.

McClaren was so flustered in the post-match press conference that he had to be corrected after describing the game "as a match we lost that we should have won" and there are now real concerns about how England will fill Wembley for their remaining qualification games.

There had also been reports that some of the squad had planned a night out in Tel Aviv after the game, although those are understood to be wrong, and after the match McClaren made it clear that the players would not be allowed out.

"We all know what we have to do, the players know what they've got to do, they know the responsibility they've got," he said. "They've had a disappointment tonight in a game that we've drawn. Many people said it's going to be a hard place to come. Looking at that performance and the way we dominated that game, we should have won. We've just got to move on and get on with the job."

After the games away against Andorra and Estonia, England face three crucial games at the new Wembley against Israel, Russia and Estonia. If they fail to take maximum points, they may leave themselves too much to do in their last two games against Russia away in October and Croatia at home in November.

"People must produce," McClaren said, although he fell short of warning that he might drop a big name to kick-start England's faltering campaign. "I feel as if the effort is there and the expectations from everybody," he said.

"Yes, they are reacting. They are playing for England and they are playing for pride. They know that. They know the responsibilities. They're as disappointed as you, as me, as the fans out there. We have to put it right. I know they will.

"At the end of the day, however you get there you get there. The ultimate goal is qualification. You might say it is this, that or the other. There are still seven games to go. If I didn't have belief in these players then we would be in trouble. I have belief in these players."