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By Mike Collett
MOSCOW, Oct 18 (Reuters) - Steve McClaren has no intention of stepping down as England coach after watching his team's chances of qualifying for next year's European Championship finals dramatically implode in Russia on Wednesday.
Leading 1-0 with 21 minutes remaining, England conceded two Roman Pavlyuchenko goals inside four minutes to slip to a defeat in the Luzhniki Stadium that leaves qualification out of their hands.
"I'm not even thinking about losing my job -- I'm really not," McClaren told reporters.
"The group is decided after 12 games. Russia have got two to play and we have got one. We are hugely disappointed to lose a football match we were controlling but beyond that, I am not thinking about losing my job."
The substitute striker's brace means Russia are now two points behind England in Group E and Guus Hiddink's side can advance to next year's finals with victories in Israel and Andorra.
England host Croatia in their final match on Nov. 21, four days after the visitors can secure qualification for the finals by avoiding defeat in Macedonia.
As it stands, Croatia have 26 points from 10 matches, England have 23 from 11 and Russia 21 from 10.
Israel, Macedonia, Estonia and Andorra are all out of contention for next year's tournament co-hosted by Austria and Switzerland.
BLISTERING VOLLEY
As the match entered the final stages, England did not look like losing after they had established the lead in the 29th minute when Wayne Rooney scored with a blistering volley.
Although skipper Steven Gerrard squandered an excellent chance to make it 2-0 early in the second half, the visitors remained in control until Rooney conceded a penalty for tripping Konstantin Zyryanov in the 69th minute.
Television replays showed the incident took place outside the box but Spanish referee Luis Medina Cantalejo awarded Russia a penalty.
Pavlyuchenko equalised from the spot and then scored the winner four minutes later when he pounced on a rebound after goalkeeper Paul Robinson could only parry Alexei Berezutsky's shot.
"I was perfectly happy with our performance until the penalty. It was a decision that turned the game their way," McClaren added.
"Now we have to rely on Israel to do us a favour. Israel have a good home record and it is a tough place to go and get a result. It is not going to be easy for Russia.
"It will be a major disappointment if we don't get to the European championships. We worked hard over the last five games to get ourselves into a good position in the group and for three quarters of the game against Russia we had done our jobs.
"Unfortunately in football, decisions and mistakes can cost you."
England's next match is a friendly against Austria in Vienna on Nov. 16 and after what happened in Moscow on Wednesday, that might well be the only match they get to play there in the foreseeable future.
