Leader still to be appointed
Friday, 9th Jul 2021PG: “I would hate to think that if I gave somebody the captain’s armband on Saturday he thinks that he couldn’t get dropped for the Tuesday.
Above: Skipper last time at Firhill was Paul Paton
Who leads the team out on Saturday is one of the questions remaining unanswered on the eve of the Premier Sports Cup kicking off as Dunfermline prepare to face Partick Thistle. Manager Peter Grant says:-
“I have not really decided upon the captaincy. It is one of those where you’d say ‘if I’m the captain does that mean that I’m playing every week?’
“There is a responsibility that goes with captain and I’m not a great one for just throwing the captain’s armband about. I think it is important and sometimes circumstances dictate for different reasons. It is not really something that is over concerning me. I watch the boys and monitor the boys.
“Going along with being the captain is a responsibility on the football pitch of course, but there is a responsibility for how you handle everything round about the club. It is very important that you represent the club 24/7 but that goes for every player at this football club. They are maybe here five or six hours during the day but the rest of the time you are still Dunfermline players and you have to represent that exceptionally well. That is what we are looking for.
“Hopefully the boys maintain that. Their attitude and commitment in the period of time that I have been here has been excellent.
“People might say it is the new manager’s bounce or whatever but I know these boys well enough and I know that is the way that they are. I have known them a long time even though they have not known me a long time in respect of that. I know who they are and I know their characters.
“When you get to work with them you see what exactly they do. They have been a joy and a pleasure to work with and long may that continue.
“The challenge has got to be on the training pitch because if you have a big challenge there, that competitive edge becomes natural come a Saturday. The quality that they are playing against every day sets them in good stead for the matches on Saturday and Tuesday.”
Peter claimed that the person given the armband for his first competitive match will depend upon injuries.
“We will make a decision for this week but depending who the injuries are we will make a decision on who is available or not available. I would hate to think that if I gave somebody the captain’s armband on Saturday he thinks that he couldn’t get dropped for the Tuesday.
“I have played with many captains. Some say that I had ten captains but I genuinely did play with ten captains when I played in a football team. At Celtic we had Roy Aitken, Danny McGrain, then Murdo Macleod, Davie Provan, Tommy Burns - you would have said that they are all leaders.
“Some wear the armband because they take that responsibility really well and some do it with their performances. You have the quiet leaders who just get on with their business who do not need an armband to do that.
“I expect them all to lead that is fact. That is responsibility but it is a bigger picture for the captain making sure that they represent the club in the right way, that is so, so important whether it is on the pitch or off the pitch.”
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