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" It's great to be captain, the gaffer (Neil McDonald) made me aware of it yesterday afternoon after training, he asked me if I wanted to do it and obviously there was only one answer, I'm really looking forward to it. It is officially the first time I have been captain, I had a spell at Sunderland where I was captain for nine or ten games when Jason McAteer was injured but I wasn't officially team captain for the season so it is the first time.
" We'll have to see how it goes, I could be taking advice off a few people during the season. I think you look at captains that you have played with and the people that you have seen that you have played against. Then obviously looking at Murph (Peter Murphy) last year and Kevin Gray when he played and I think you just follow their lead with a bit of your own ideas yourself. I think it's good, there is no player that would say no to a job like that, it's a great honour wherever you are and whatever club you are at. I'm really looking forward to it and I think it's something you should relish, and hopefully it brings your own game on five or ten percent as well.
" I think it's more so when things aren't going so well, you have to rally the troops and keep everyone going. Hopefully we don't but say we go on a brief losing streak I think it's just keeping everybody motivated and again when you are out there if you go a goal behind it's just to push on and try to get back into the game. I think everyone looks towards the captain for those things to happen. Thankfully the spell I had at Sunderland it didn't affect my game, if anything it made me into a better player so I'm just hoping that the same thing can happen here. Then the rest of the team can push on and we can have as good a season or better than we had last year.
" I think we're very confident on the back of last season finishing eighth. I think looking back, I know a lot of clubs can say it, we dropped points here and we should have been up there but I think it's safe to say that obviously a few more wins and we would have been right in the mix. That's the difference really this year, we're just looking to maybe be a bit more consistent at times, turn the odd draw into wins and there is no reason why we shouldn't be there or thereabouts again. "
" I've spoken to Lummy (Chris Lumsdon) but I'm not so sure if all the lads know yet. I wasn't sure when it was coming out, I only found out myself yesterday afternoon so I'm sure I'll get a bit of stick tomorrow. Them saying that they can't believe that I'm captain and stuff like that, I'm sure we'll have a laugh with it. At the end of the days it's a team game, it's a great honour for me but let's just hope that we can do the business on the pitch throughout the season as a team.
" The new lads have been great, they are a great bunch of lads and they've settled in really well. We're off to Scotland next week which will be another bonding session along with the training. Training has gone well, the games have gone well, looking forward to another one tomorrow albeit a much tougher task against Newcastle but the lads are really looking forward to that game and the rest of the season.
" I hope training doesn't get more intensive than the first week because it was quite difficult. I think the gaffer just sees it as a gradual process, especially with the games, I think we all started with 45 minutes in the first game and then you increase it to an hour like we did with a few of the lads the other night. I would imagine a few of us will have an hour tomorrow and then you are just basically looking to, come the Walsall game, be ready for 90 minutes whatever the team is.
" I suppose that being a pre-season fixture it adds a little bit of something when you are playing against Newcastle. You expect a decent crowd there, hopefully the fans will come out like I'm sure they will and cheer us on. It should make for a good atmosphere and hopefully it will make for a good game. The strip looks fine, I saw Jeff Smith modelling it on the back of the paper, I'm not sure he was the best choice in the world. It looks good, it looks fine, I'm sure the fans will like it. It looks lovely so let's hope it's the strip that gets us up in the top flight again. "