Sacked Wolfsburg coach Steve McClaren says he's a better manager for his time in Holland and Germany.

McClaren joined Wolfsburg last summer after leading FC Twente to the Dutch title.

"The emotion and the excitement of the game is here, but there's also a great seriousness about learning and understanding football," he said in The Times.

"Coaching is a profession. It's harder to get the same qualifications out here, no doubt about it. It's twice as much work. A young coach has to shadow a club for a year, writing reports on every training session, every game, like a silent assistant."