Former Newcastle United captain Geremi insists he 'accepted' Kevin Keegan's decision to name Michael Owen as the new Magpies skipper within days of his arrival. The Cameroon international was signed by Sam Allardyce in the summer of 2007, and was handed the captaincy following a four-year spell at Chelsea.
However, the ex-Bolton manager's stint at St James' Park lasted just eight months, with the club announcing the future England manager's departure had been agreed by 'mutual consent'. Mike Ashley turned to Toon legend Keegan in January 2008 for what would proved to be a short-lived second spell in charge at Newcastle.
Keegan quickly named United's former record signing Owen as captain, with the former Liverpool and Real Madrid striker going on to rediscover his goalscoring touch and help lift the side clear of the relegation zone. Asked if the Newcastle legend's decision 'upset' him in a question-and-answer feature with FourFourTwo, Geremi argued he was respectful of his new manager's 'own ideas'.
He said: "These things happen in football. When Kevin came, he brought his own mentality and his own ideas.
"Every manager does that. He had a plan, and said he was going to make Owen the captain instead of me - I respected that. When you're a player, the manager is always the boss. He's the one who decides.
"Your job is to play. That's what you're there for. When he made that decision, I accepted it as any member of the squad must accept the boss' decisions.
"I wasn't the first captain to lose his armband to someone else after a new coach arrived. I wasn't the last either."
