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GORDON STRACHAN insists Stephen McManus was the natural choice to become the new Celtic captain because he has the maturity, drive and ambition required for the role.
The Hoops manager sat beside his new skipper as he faced the media at Celtic Park this afternoon and delivered a tremendous appraisal of his defender’s leadership qualities. Strachan is certain he has made the right choice.
“Stephen has shown in the past two years, as you can see by his progress, that he is willing to listen and take in information,” he said. “He’ll get that and if he can improve as a captain that will be fantastic.
“He has to take my instructions on to the football pitch and make sure they are carried out. He’ll be getting closer to me, but he’s at the right age to start his captaincy.
“Stephen has a lot going for him. He’s got that drive to get better all the time and he has to have that drive to make the players round about him better as well. I know it’s the right choice.
“We’re lucky we have a dressing room with a lot of characters, personalities and strong-willed people. But you have to have quite a few things to be the captain of this club, and a captain who is going to work with me.
“You need to be able to communicate with the management and the players. You need to have the respect of the players and a willingness to learn, because the captaincy is new.”
McManus was only 22 when Strachan arrived at Celtic in 2005 and had yet to cement a place in the first-team.
However, he made his first start under the manager in the opening SPL match of that season against Motherwell and has remained there ever since.
It’s fair to say that those early days of the 2005/06 campaign were difficult for Strachan and his players, but the manager knew then that he could always rely on McManus.
“We were hand in hand in that storm and what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger,” he said. “The club has got stronger since then and we have a great group here.
“We were the best squad last year and we want to do that again. The pace of your pack is determined by your leader, and Mick is going to be a good leader. He’ll set standards, on and off the pitch, for everybody else to try and follow.
“He’s only 24 and mistakes will be made. But we’ve got good experienced players to help and Stephen will have to set the standards.”
The rise of McManus has been phenomenal over the last two years, especially when you consider that the defender was thought to have been considering a move away from Celtic before Strachan took over.
But the manager dismissed suggestions that he made McManus the player he is today – stressing that the defender always had the inner belief to reach the top.
He said: “You determine where you go in your life and, whether at Celtic or elsewhere, Stephen would have been a top centre-half, because he had the drive to do it.
“Whether it would have meant going lower, doing well, and moving up…it would have happened. It’s up to you to decide where you go and no matter what would happened, he would have ended up playing for Scotland.”
Steven McManus named new Celtic skipper 
his name has Anus in it
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