Steve McClaren admits he will put a lot of pressure on himself to continue FC Twente's successful development over the coming years.

The former England manager has signed a two-year deal with the Dutch Champions League qualifiers, who have notched back-to-back fourth-place finishes in the Eredivisie.

Despite his failure at the England helm, McClaren is convinced he can cope with the high expectations in Enschede and is looking forward to a new challenge.

"Pressure is only what I call internal and I always put a lot of pressure on myself," he stated.

"So there is a lot of pressure on myself to succeed here, as there was with England, Middlesbrough, Manchester United or wherever I have been. There is always pressure.

"This team has made great progress over the last two years.

"I don't want to lose any of that. I want to build on the success. I want to keep what is good and improve all the time because you can always improve on and off the field. I hope my experience will help them."

McClaren said his top priority will be to keep influential skipper Orlando Engelaar, who has been linked with a move to Schalke having impressed for Holland at Euro 2008.

"We have heard the rumours but he is under contract," he said. "I have just signed and I hope to meet him and speak to his agent who I know well.

"We will see what the situation is. It would of course be good to keep him."

McClaren caught a first glimpse of his new team four weeks ago when he saw Twente play Ajax in the Dutch Champions League play-offs, when a scoreless return leg was enough to secure passage to the Champions League qualification.

"I was impressed by what I saw," McClaren said. "I saw a great team spirit. They worked very hard and played well but the biggest thing is that they worked as a team. They worked for each other.

"They made the Champions League qualification so I was excited by that.

"There are a lot of challenges ahead. (Former coach) Fred Rutten did a fantastic job. I want to continue his success."

Meanwhile, club president Joop Munsterman said he did not expect McClaren to be as successful as his predecessor, who decided to seek a new challenge at Schalke.

"We never put pressure on the management," Munsterman told PA Sport. "If we look at the last two years, two times we finished in the fourth rank.

"You can't expect the team to do it again with the new trainer. We expect something like five, six or seven next year."

Munsterman also defended his decision to be the first club to give McClaren a chance to redeem himself following his disastrous stint as England manager.

"I dont think he has something to prove," he said. "I don't think he is the person who wants to prove something."

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