Boss Paul Simpson today confirmed that Ben Davies will carry on as Shrewsbury Town captain for the new season.The 27-year-old will lead a new-look Town side out for the first game of the League Two campaign, at home to Macclesfield Town on Saturday.
He was first named as skipper by former boss Gary Peters last season, but speculation grew that a man might get the armband after Simpson revealed he was considering his options.
New signings Michael Jackson, Graham Coughlan and Paul Murray were all thought to be in the frame - but Davies has impressed his manager with the way he has handled the role in pre-season.
“I wanted to look at the captain situation and how players reacted to it, and I have to say that I have been happy with Ben Davies,” Simpson declared.
“I think Ben has done very well and seems to have been able to cope with it and I think he’s had a little bit of a lift by keeping it and his performances have been good.
“I’m not a person who gets screwed up about who has the captain’s armband and all that sort of stuff.
“As long as Ben Davies is in the side then Ben Davies will be the captain and I hope it will stay that way.”
Simpson also hailed Davies for the job he does behind the scenes as a link between the players and the management, and insisted he did not believe the job would affect his form.
“I know everyone thinks that the captain has to be the leader but it doesn’t always work that way, sometimes players lead by example without being really vocal,” he added.
“For me the role that Ben does is a very valuable one as he does a lot off the pitch, he is the link between myself and the players at times.
“The thing to remember is that he is performing out there on the pitch and he has shown good quality.”
Meanwhile, Town are sending a strong side - featuring 10 first team squad members - to UniBond League side Buxton for a final pre-season friendly tonight (7.30pm).
Second year scholar Aaron Gibson is the odd one out in a starting line-up, and Simpson insists the 10 featuring tonight could still be included in the squad for the League Two opener.
Team: Scott Bevan, James Meredith, Steve Leslie, Kelvin Langmead, Chris Humphrey, Marc Pugh, Stephen Hindmarch, Dave Hibbert, Michael Symes, Guy Madjo, Gibson.
By Chris Hudson
Share this article:
What are these?