Group E: Not only is the honeymoon over but, considering the bawling at the end in Zagreb, the supporters are ready to sue for divorce.

Although there is no humiliation in being beaten by a side who have never lost a competitive match at home, the defeat to Croatia does mean Steve McClaren has much to do before anyone will be convinced he has what it takes to be a successful England manager.

A predictable defeat can be more disturbing than a shock result. In the build-up to Wednesday's match, an alarmingly large number of people anticipated that England would be beaten, with predictions of the 2-0 score cropping up regularly.

McClaren's desire to freshen up the side and the fashion in which they prepare for games is commendable, but those are no more than good intentions, and it was only in the Maksimir stadium that their worth was really assayed for the first time.

There was a low valuation of McClaren's merits. The long-odds gamble on a switch to 3-5-2, which none of his players is accustomed to at club level, did not pay out. It is just about conceivable that it was disorientating enough to explain why, for example, John Terry did not make a challenge and so left Eduardo da Silva to head the opener.

Then again, the formation cannot have been to blame for the second goal. Gary Neville deviated from professional practice by failing to aim his pass-back wide of the posts, and Paul Robinson, who had noticed the many divots in the penalty area, should have taken a touch to stop the ball instead of having a swipe and missing completely.

McClaren's system can hardly be held responsible, either, for the timidity of Scott Parker, Michael Carrick and Frank Lampard.

That cursory involvement by the midfield trio was hard to bear after the manager had blathered beforehand about the importance of "character" and the need for an "English performance". His views have to be quoted, but he came across as superficial, outdated and determined to play to the gallery. In such speeches there is an implication that other nations don't have these qualities to the same extent. They do, as Croatia confirmed. Skill and brains are the elusive attributes.

Although England summoned up plenty of effort, there was a lack of mental sharpness. If McClaren's call for a reaction to last Saturday's goalless draw with Macedonia went unanswered, it puts his motivational powers in question. Outsiders are left wondering if he speaks to players in the formulaic manner with which he addresses a microphone.

McClaren has long taken advice before making public addresses, but if an informal script has been agreed it could do with a rewrite. The comments are too often shallow and, after a question that may not have been anticipated, not even a cryptoanalyst of genius could locate a proper answer in the words that spill out.

Remarks on the Croatia defeat were composed of the normal generalities. He took responsibility for tactics on which Terry Venables is presumed to exert a strong influence, knew he would be blamed, was prepared for criticism and would analyse the performance.

Must deeper changes to the squad be made in the light of the staleness in Zagreb? "That will have to be very closely looked at," he said. Naturally, and rightly, he insisted that England can recover to reach Euro 2008.

There is drama when a manager hints at ditching players, particularly well-established ones, but alternatives are not abundant and the more obvious alterations will see the return of men such as Steven Gerrard and Joe Cole for next month's friendly in Amsterdam.

England do not have a qualifier until the trip to Israel in March and results elsewhere will have pushed them down Group E by then. Advancing to the finals in Austria and Switzerland will undoubtedly have tribulations.

McClaren commented that he had been in such positions before as Sven-Goran Eriksson's assistant, but that is not precisely the case. The Swede never had as poor a return as a draw and defeat from consecutive qualifiers at any stage in the three campaigns in which he was engaged. It probably was time for a new regime, but McClaren is under pressure to show he constitutes a change for the better. He was acutely conscious of the threat in Zagreb, and the Croatia captain was justified in his feeling that the opposition's instincts were conservative.

"The tactic is not the reason England lost," said Niko Kovac. "We were more aggressive. We wanted the glory and the victory and England were only here for a draw."

There are demands already that David Beckham should be recalled, but the former captain would probably have to bolster his claims by first proving that he still has a future at Real Madrid.

McClaren himself will have to show he is the man for the long term by demonstrating against a competitive Israel that he truly can galvanise and lead England.

• Guardian Service