In his post match press conference the England manager was quick to hail his vice captain.
"I thought Stevie Gerrard, really stepped forward tonight. You need that character in a team and he did it tonight," said McClaren.
"We said to the players at half-time you've got to show real guts and character in the second-half because of the conditions on and off the field and they coped with it, got stronger and better.
"We said you need to show character and they did that, even the subs who came on."