STEVE McClaren reckons this weekend was the ideal time to face Wanderers.

The former England boss was magnanimous in victory, conceding the midweek FA Cup game against Liverpool might have still been playing on his opponents’ minds and bodies at the iPro Stadium.

“You can understand why Bolton were not on top form, with all the emotion of that game,” he said. “They did ever so well against Liverpool.

“But we still had to perform and I thought we acquitted ourselves superbly.”

While it would have mattered little to the overall result, Neil Lennon complained a red card should have been issued to Jake Buxton for a professional foul on Adam Le Fondre in the final few moments of the game.

“You don’t want to see players sent off but that was a clear red,” he said.

McClaren admits his defender might have got away with one – but argued the Rams deserved a bit of luck.

“The referee is there, the linesman is there but I didn’t see it,” he said.

“We’ve had one or two given against us like that recently and it could have been (a red). It might have been harsh.

“Maybe we got away with one, maybe because it’s the last kick of the game they’ve let common sense prevail.

“But I think we’ve deserved a little bit of good fortune.”

McClaren was also full of praise for debutant Tom Ince, the on-loan Hull City winger who set the ball rolling on a 4-1 win with a stunning free kick just before half time.

“The first goal was always going to be important and it was a cracker,” he said. “He's slotted into our team and he's done that in training since day one. It looked like Tom had been in the team all season.

"The key thing is Tom can score goals, he's got that knack. He wants to score and he can handle the ball, it's a great debut for him.

"He just needed an opportunity and a chance to find a home and that's what we want to give him and I think with this team he can play in it."