New Gerrard role excites McClaren
England coach Steve McClaren says the best is yet to come from Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard.
The 26-year-old - set for his 50th cap in Wednesday's Euro 2008 qualifier in Macedonia - has been outstanding since McClaren moved him to the right wing.
McClaren said: \"He can get better. He has been a fantastic influence in some of the games he has won for Liverpool.
\"We want to transfer that to England and he has started to do that over the last couple of games.\"
Under previous boss Sven-Goran Eriksson, Gerrard struggled to reproduce his club form for England in a central midfield partnership with Chelsea's Frank Lampard.
But since taking over as coach McClaren has opted to use Gerrard on the right - and was a huge influence in the friendly against Greece and in Saturday's Euro 2008 qualifier with Andorra.
He scored the 10th goal of his England career against Andorra and made another for Jermain Defoe as England won 5-0.
McClaren added: \"I've always looked at him on that right-hand side and he scored goals from there, so it's got to be a decent position for him.
\"You should want the ball all the time and express yourself. When you do that, you enjoy it.
\"When it comes off, you enjoy it more and Steven Gerrard has given us that on the right-hand side.
\"He has been influential for Liverpool over the years and has changed games and won European Cups by himself.
\"Now he's doing that for England so it's great for us. The best is still to come from him and all the players.\"
Much of the credit for England's new fluency in midfield has gone to Owen Hargreaves, with the Bayern Munich player now seemingly settled in the holding role.
England skipper John Terry compared Hargreaves' performances with those of Claude Makelele for Chelsea.
Terry said: \"I think Owen Hargreaves has slotted in perfectly. You can compare Owen to 'Maka' at Chelsea. Like Maka he breaks the play up brilliantly.
\"If anyone gets past him, then they still have us to beat in the defence but he is certainly not easy to get past
\"I think the attacking midfielders in the England side appreciate having Owen in there as well, knowing he will sit back if we are on the attack.\"
Despite their emphatic win over European minnows Andorra, McClaren has warned his side not to get too comfortable.
With Gary Neville, Rio Ferdinand, Joe Cole, Wayne Rooney and Michael Owen all missing through injury or suspension, several players took their opportunity to shine.
But McClaren said: \"Nobody is a permanent fixture and no-one can count on having a shirt all the time.
\"They have to work hard for their clubs in between and show form and then, when they come to England, they have to perform well for the team.
\"We are building a squad and I've said to these players they are in the squad at the moment but it's up to them whether they stay in or not.\"
One player now looking established in the England side is Liverpool forward Peter Crouch, whose double strike on Saturday took his tally to 10 in 13 international games.
McClaren called Crouch's record \"phenomenal\" but stressed that he is more than just a goalscorer for England.
The coach said: \"He's a team player and, when we do the stats and look at the fitness, he runs more than any other player in a game.
\"For a striker it's a phenomenal amount of work he is getting through.
\"He runs about 13km, maybe more sometimes, and the average is 12km and a half for a midfielder. He is consistently above. I've seen him do 14km before.\"
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