New Town captain Dara O’Shea says he is eager to take on the added responsibility of wearing the armband for the Blues ahead of the Championship season kicking off on Friday against Birmingham City.
O’Shea was widely expected to take over the role from outgoing skipper Sam Morsy, with the Republic of Ireland international formally announced as Morsy’s successor on Tuesday having been interim captain throughout pre-season.
Having signed from Burnley last summer, the centre-back started all 35 Premier League matches following his debut and took the armband on six occasions when Morsy was absent from the starting line-up.
O’Shea says when the question was posed by manager Kieran McKenna, it was an easy decision.
"I’m really proud for myself and my family,” he said. "To get the opportunity to lead this club is special and something that I’m really looking forward to stepping into.
"The gaffer just pulled me and spoke to me. I had the privilege to wear it a few times last season when Samy wasn’t playing.
"The gaffer spoke to me this pre-season, sat me down and said he’d like me to take it. It was a quick answer for myself and something I’m looking forward to having the responsibility of now.
"It’s important not to change too much around the place and also be myself as well. There’s nothing worse than someone who’s acting false and fake.
"If I carry on the way I’ve always been, but with a bit more responsibility at times and maybe more decisions I have to make, that’s fine. But all in all it’s trying to keep things fairly smooth and seamless.”
Despite being just 26 years of age, O’Shea has previously been praised for his leadership qualities and is no stranger to shouldering the responsibility of leading his side for both club and country.
New signing Ashley Young is the latest to join a group with plenty of leadership experience, Conor Chaplin, Christian Walton, Luke Woolfenden and George Hirst having all taken the armband under McKenna previously.
O’Shea said: "At West Brom I was the on-field captain for the second half of the season when Jake [Livermore] wasn’t playing so I had a bit of a taste for it then.
"I was captain a few times at underage international level so it’s something I’m looking forward to.
"We will have a leadership group. It hasn’t been confirmed yet, I think the boss is just waiting for the window to close to finalise that.
"Obviously Ashley will be there, he’s got more experience than anyone so it would probably be wrong to not have him there. Once the gaffer has finalised that then we’ll know where we are as a group.”
Departed skipper Morsy, who left the Blues to join Kuwait SC on a free transfer last month after four years at the club, has widely been recognised as one of Town’s greatest modern-day captains.
O’Shea expressed his own gratitude to Morsy and admitted his departure will be felt by the entire dressing room at Portman Road.
"I was really close to Samy last year,” he said. "He sent me a message as well which was really nice. He’s someone that’s done so much for this club and got the club to where they are in a way so a massive credit to him. How well he’s been with me has made it really easy for my transition.
"Everyone was first and foremost extremely grateful for Samy and what he’s done for this club. Everyone understood it was a move that made sense and a move that I think was going to benefit himself and his family.
"It’s something that he deserves too having given so much to the football club. For the club to be so grateful to him and honour that move for him to go there was nice from them.
"For us as players, he’s obviously going to be a massive loss in the changing room but with that comes the responsibility of other people stepping up.
"So far I think we’ve seen that in pre-season which has been good. It’s opened up opportunities for other boys.”
Alongside his new role as skipper, O’Shea had a new contract to celebrate this summer having penned a new five-year deal with the Blues in June.
Asked if that was also a simple decision to make, O’Shea said: "Yeah, very easy. Everybody knows how much I’ve enjoyed my time here.
"Coming into a new club can be quite daunting and it can take a while to settle in, but I settled in quite quickly here and knew how easy it was going to be once I got myself settled.
"I’m really grateful to the club for showing their trust and their belief in me to sign a long-term deal.
"I’m really enjoying my time here, seeing the club’s ambitions and the pathway that they want this club to go on is something I want to be a part of. It was a really easy answer.”