McClaren again looks to Gerrard for inspiration

It seems barely credible that just three matches after he suffered some of the worst abuse ever directed at an England coach McClaren is on the brink of qualifying for next summer's European Championships.

If victory over Russia can be achieved at Wembley tonight, a place at the finals in Austria and Switzerland will be in touching distance, with only five points required to take the side through - as long as one of those comes in Moscow next month.

Although there have been a couple of high-profile friendlies and a B international mixed in with qualifying victories over Estonia and Israel, the swing in fortunes - and mood - has been dramatic.

Even McClaren struggles to pinpoint the exact reasons behind the change. But he is sure Gerrard's inspired second-half performance against Andorra, when England headed into half-time in Barcelona's Olympic Stadium level, humiliated and berated by their own fans, was a major factor.

''It is hard to say what has changed but sometimes in adversity, you see the characters, who steps forward and who wants to,'' he said.

''I always reflect back on the performance of Steven Gerrard in that Andorra game.

''We often see him as an inspiration for Liverpool and he has done it for England in the past. But that night he was special and everyone followed.

''In the dressing room afterwards there was a great determination and a great togetherness. Despite all the criticism that was flying about, there was a renewed vigour among everyone because we knew it was up to us to do something about it.''

Such is the fickle nature of sport that while McClaren stands only a couple of wins away from achieving his short-term aim of qualification, defeat this evening would leave England on the brink of elimination.

It is a brutal fact that only twice in his short time in charge - against Greece and Andorra right at the start, and Brazil and Estonia last June - have England strung effective performances together in successive matches.

Having failed to beat either Croatia or Israel on home soil, Russia are clearly at least a couple of notches below world class.

But any side coached by Hiddink has to be respected and their excellent defensive record - just one goal conceded in eight outings so far - sends out a clear warning signal.

''It is no good winning one game without winning another,'' observed McClaren.

''If you want to win a tournament you have to win four or five games on the bounce.

''We took a lot of self-belief and confidence from Saturday but we cannot just reflect on the glory of that win. We have to qualify and we must do it again.''

Thigh injuries which saw Owen Hargreaves and Frank Lampard return to Manchester United and Chelsea for treatment give credence to the theory McClaren will name an unchanged team for the first time since he succeeded Sven-Goran Eriksson last summer.

Yet his reluctance to confirm such a move suggests at least one change will be made when the former Middlesbrough boss informs his squad of the team at a lunchtime meeting today.

As it is hard to spot any obvious reason why Emile Heskey should lose his place to Peter Crouch, who is back from suspension, Gareth Barry and Shaun Wright-Phillips would appear to be the men under most risk if McClaren seeks an alternative to Hargreaves as a holding player in midfield to form a barrier to Russia's counter-attacking plans and the visitors' preference for a five-man midfield protecting a three-man defence.

''It is a tougher challenge because Russia play a different system,'' said McClaren.

''As much as I would like to keep the same shape, formation and personnel, we have to be able to adapt, so we may have to tweak one or two things.

''It is not about being brave, it is about making decisions you feel are necessary to win the game. It doesn't matter whether they are brave or stupid as long as they work. When it works you are brave, when it doesn't you are a fool.''