Football: Players should look up to and respect their captain SAYS

PAUL LE GUEN clearly does not rate the importance of the captain and, with five skippers so far this season, Hearts don't attach much importance to it - but Jim Jefferies disagrees.

The former Tynecastle skipper and now boss of Kilmarnock believes that the appointment of the team captain is one of the big decisions every season.

Perhaps Frenchman Le Guen's demise at Rangers was hastened by the difference of opinion that he had with fans' favourite Barry Ferguson.

And, at Tynecastle, coach Valdas Ivanauskas has named Steven Pressley, Paul Hartley, Craig Gordon, Christophe Berra and last Saturday Neil McCann as captain.

So much thought went into these appointments that Pressley has been given away to champions and league leaders Celtic and Hartley followed him to Parkhead for pounds 1.1million.

But Jefferies is certain that in Scotland the player chosen to lead the team, both on the pitch and off it, needs a great deal of thought.

"It may be that in France, or indeed mainland Europe, that the identity and responsibility of the captain is of less importance but that does not apply here," said the former Jambos defender.

"In this country you look for a player that the others will look up to, respect for his ability and passion for the club, someone who can lift the rest when the team needs impetus.

"It does not always have to be the battle cry type shouting to the rest of the players either, there will be clever captains, who will take a player aside during a game and deliver a quiet word of encouragement.

"But, of course, the captain is appointed by the manager and not by the players, so he has a fine line to walk in terms of balance. For it may be that he will want to get the players to see the club's point of view over an issue.

"I remember being captain of Hearts when Willie Ormond was the manager in the late 70s, the players were very upset about the bonus for winning and many were ready to go on strike. My view as captain was that there was another way to go about it and you were talking about a time when players made good money but nothing like the telephone numbers now.

"In the end we ended up playing at Dumbarton with only three or four of the recognised first team and the dispute was eventually resolved, but I felt that it was right that I impress the club's view on the players in that instance.

"More recently Steven Pressley was simply expressing the fears of a part of the Hearts dressing room - he is a man of principle and would have taken that step because he felt it was right.

"That is an area where the captain is required to represent the players for what they consider to be the good of the club and themselves. In that way he gathers more respect among the team.

"Over the years we have had wonderful skippers in the Scottish game, just think of John Greig at Rangers and Billy McNeill of Celtic.

"Who can forget the Greig goal in the final minute of the World Cup match against Italy in 1965 when he drove the team on from right- back in one last push, which won the tie?

"And off the field too there are instances where a captain can represent his players to the management over things of a less pressing matter - a few beers on the town after a game.

"When I was manager at Falkirk, John Hughes was my captain, an inspirational man who is proving it weekly as manager there now and we played a friendly at Ipswich on a Friday night," recalled the Rugby Park boss.

"There was no weekend match after that, we were travelling back by coach next day and John came to me to ask if the players could go out for a few beers after the game.

"I told him that they had to be back by 12.30. and he replied, 'You're joking, the lads have no game tomorrow, can it not be a little later?' I thought about it and went back with another suggestion.

"I told him that they could be out until 4am if he would guarantee their good behaviour. The players were all tucked by 3.30 and John's standing as skipper was enhanced because he had come to the manager on their behalf and won them a concession - he did his job.

"The importance of the captaincy of a football team in Scotland is something that must and will continue to be held in high esteem."

Copyright 2007 MGN LTD
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.