Smith new Newcastle captain
Newcastle will look to Alan Smith for inspiration
Also In The News
|
Directed by Marc Forester, out Wednesday December 26th, in cinemas, starring Khalid Abdalla, Atossa Leoni, Homayoun Ershadi and Ahmad Khan Mahmidzada, running time 128 mins. |  |
Thursday, 27, Dec 2007 09:28
Newcastle manager Sam Allardyce has confirmed that Alan Smith will be his new captain in the absence of Geremi.
The England striker took the armband for the 1-0 loss at Wigan yesterday and with Geremi going off to the African Cup of Nations to play for Cameroon, Allardyce believes Smith has the right character to lead his team.
"We need to establish for a while somebody who can captain the side on a regular basis with the attitude, desire and commitment that Alan shows," said Allardyce.
"We need to see that from all the players because we cannot win a Premier League match without that level of commitment from everyone."
Newcastle's players will need to show the heart and fire that their new captain is famous for if they are to climb up the Premier League. They are currently in 11th position and Allardyce was fuming at his players after yesterday's defeat at Wigan.
He said: "These are the players I've got. Some I've bought and some I haven't. Some have showed me what they can do, in fact most of them have showed me what they can do on the good side of things.
"But too many are showing me what they can do on the bad side of it. I know it's not good enough, so it doesn't take much for them to work out it's not good enough. They are not daft."
Allardyce has come under-fire from large parts of Newcastle fans and many chanted for his sacking in the game yesterday.