McClaren looks to Tallinn and Wembley for Euro ticket

ALLINN, June 6 (Reuters) England coach Steve McClaren is counting on a win against Estonia and the 'Wembley factor' to steer his men all the way to the Euro 2008 finals.

Built at a cost of 800 million pounds, Wembley finally opened its doors to McClaren's side last Friday in a creditable 1-1 draw with Brazil.

It was an improvement on England's faltering Euro 2008 campaign, where they have slipped to fourth in Group E after a defeat by Croatia and draws with Macedonia and Israel.

As he prepared to face Estonia, McClaren told reporters: ''Winning will put us in a good position and a position where it's in our hands.

''Four of our last five games (after Estonia) are at home and Wembley, as we saw on Friday, could become a fortress for us.

''We were comfortable there, we enjoyed the atmosphere, the players enjoyed it, they performed well and got a great result.

''So we've got to feel confident about winning there.'' After today, England host Israel, Russia, Estonia and Croatia, their final qualifier on Nov. 21, in their remaining 2008 campaign, with the only away fixture being against Russia on Oct. 17.

McClaren's side, with former skipper David Beckham back in the line-up, looked set to start with a win at their new home before Diego headed a stoppage-time equaliser.

However, the goal failed to burst a bubble of optimism about England's prospects, just over two months after their fans booed the team at halftime in a downbeat 3-0 win over Andorra.

''Everyone was looking for a performance like we got on Friday, one that we know we're capable of doing but we haven't seen for a long time,'' McClaren said.

''It was good to see it...but still we need to follow that up and I've stressed that to the players over the last two days.

''It's no good a performance like that raising the buoyancy of the fans at Wembley, and making Wembley a home, if we don't follow that up with a performance and a win.'' REUTERS TB DS1457