Eddie Howe's Newcastle captain decision defended after…

Eddie Howe's Newcastle captain decision defended after Gabby Agbonlahor verdict

Eddie Howe is right to stand by Jamaal Lascelles as Newcastle United captain - despite the defender falling down the pecking order. That is the view of Lee Clark, who feels the Magpies head coach would risk unnecessarily disrupting the dressing room by replacing the long-serving skipper.

Lascelles was first named Newcastle captain by Rafa Benitez ahead of the 2016/17 season, and has held on to the responsibility since United's top-flight return. However, the 28-year-old has seen his playing time reduced in recent months following the arrivals of Sven Botman and Dan Burn.

Howe decided against replacing the centre-back as skipper with summer, with Kieran Trippier wearing the armband in both Premier League fixtures so far. The topic of Lascelles retaining the captaincy was raised by Gabby Agbonlahor during a talkSPORT discussion on Tyrone Mings' future at Aston Villa.

The England international has been replaced as club captain at Villa Park by John McGinn, and was named on the bench for the opening-day defeat at Bournemouth as Steven Gerrard partnered Ezri Konsa with summer signing Diego Carlos. However, Mings was since recalled for the home victory over Everton on Saturday.

Agbonlahor argued a club captain has to be in contention to 'play every game', citing Lascelles' current struggles to feature for Newcastle. However, former Magpies midfielder Clark has praised the defender's response to the increased competition and feels the centre-back will continue to lead behind the scenes.

Clark told ChronicleLive: "I like what Jamaal has come out and said, he's proven since he's a young guy that he's a leader on and off the field. Eddie has said Jamaal is the club captain and if he starts again, he takes the armband and that's rightly so.

"I like his reaction, he hasn't sulked. He's a player who's kept himself right because when he was called upon a couple of times last season, he came in and did really well. He helped the team get good results, so he's obviously still doing the right things on the training pitch.

"I think there's no need to cause rumblings in the dressing room by taking the captaincy off Jamaal, he's still showing leadership skills from the touchline and the bench. I imagine he's very vocal in the dressing room before the game, at half time, and at the training ground too."

Howe introduced a leadership group model shortly following his appointment in November, with both Trippier and Wilson adopting captaincy responsibilities in recent weeks. For Clark, this approach means there was no need for the head coach to change his skipper.

Clark added: "You'll have three or four possibilities who you consider to be a captain, and if any of those are starting they get the armband. Gone are the days where the captain has to play, you have to warrant playing by your performances. If you've got a good leader and he's not always starting, there's no need to take that captaincy away because he can still make a massive contribution.

"It's all the work that goes in during the week. As a manager, you need someone as a link to the dressing room. You don't want to be mingling with players as if you're their best mate, but you want to have a good relationship with them. If you have any issues, you want someone want to report them because you don't want anything to affect performances.

"I'm sure that's what Lascelles does, and I've got no grumblings with what's been done. You don't hear any disharmony from the camp, and if you're a manager and that's happening you know that things are going well."

Eddie Howe's Newcastle captain decision defended after Gabby Agbonlahor verdict

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