Oldham midfielder Dean Furman knows he has a lot to live up to after being handed the club's captaincy.
Midfielder aware of the challenge in following Hazell
Oldham Athletic midfielder Dean Furman knows that he has a lot to live up to after being handed the captaincy for next season.
The 23-year-old was given the role by manager Paul Dickov after predecessor Reuben Hazell's summer switch to Shrewsbury.
The South African has made more than 80 appearances for the Latics since joining from Rangers in 2009 and he told
skysports.com that following in Hazell's footsteps will be a big challenge.
He said: "Rubes (Hazell) was a great role model for us, especially with the wealth of experience that he had under his belt and the amount of young players we have here.
"He was a great leader on and off the pitch and I speak to him quite a bit still, so I'll be taking advice from him as much as possible and trying to carry on where he left off.
Massive honour
"It is a massive honour and I was delighted to accept the role when the gaffer offered it to me.
"I am young, but I feel that I have matured a lot over the past few seasons and I'm really looking forward to my new role as captain.
"I'm pretty confident of coping with the extra responsibility and the gaffer told me that I shouldn't change how I approach the game just because I'm the captain now.
"He gave me the captaincy for a reason and that was based on what I did last season without the armband, so I won't be changing much.
"I'm pretty vocal with or without the armband anyway and I like to encourage players around me as much as I can, so I'll just be looking to continue in that way as captain."
