With usual skipper Dara O’Shea on the bench, and previous stand-in Ashley Young injured, the armband was handed to Town’s No.9.
The Scottish international ended up having to hand to over to O’Shea at half-time when the defender was introduced for Cedric Kipre.
“It was clear for me that he would have that honour tonight,” said McKenna.
“George is into his fourth season now, has been a massive part of the success here, been an incredible servant for the football club and is still a really important person in the leadership group.
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“He battled hard, but unfortunately wasn’t able to get the goal.
“To be captain of a club like this is something that he’s deserved over the course of his time here and it’s something he can be really proud of.”
Meanwhile, explaining his decision to replace Kipre with O’Shea at the break, the Blues boss said: “We planned before the game that Cedric and Dara would do 45 each.
“It’s a little bit tricky with our centre-half balance in terms of Elkan (Baggott) and Greavsey (Jacob Greaves) both being left-footed, but it was really important to get them both minutes tonight.
“Elkan playing left-back was because we wanted to keep the balance for the team and keep a right-footer in the centre-back partnership.”
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