Friday 19 September 2014 15:05, UK
Reading defender Chris Gunter has enjoyed the responsibility of being captain in the absence of injured skipper Jem Karacan.
Wales international Gunter has been captaining the side so far this season as Karacan continues his recovery from a serious knee injury.
Despite being only 25, Gunter has a wealth of experience having made over 250 appearances in his career for Cardiff, Tottenham, Nottingham Forest and Wales.
Gunter who was speaking at his old school in Newport to unveil their new gym which is named in his honour, thanked Royals boss Nigel Adkins for entrusting him with the captaincy and has revelled in leading the side in their current run of good form.
"Jem Karacan is club captain but he is close to getting back from injury so until Jem's back I have had the armband and it is something I have enjoyed," Gunter told Sky Sports.
"Since the manager has come in and his staff they have been brilliant to me and I think I am at that stage now where I can be captain I have got a lot of experience.
"I am happy to help any of the younger lads in the team and I have enjoyed the responsibility of being captain.
"It's going well and to start the season well as a club it is pleasing to be a big part of it."
Reading currently sit in sixth place in the table after winning their last three games in the Championship and Gunter is expecting a fierce battle for promotion to the Premier League this season.
"We are playing some really good football and we are winning games," added Gunter.
"We had a disappointing performance at Forest a few weeks ago, but since then we have responded really well and it shows if you can win a few games it can propel you right up the league.
Since the manager has come in and his staff they have been brilliant to me and I think I am at that stage now where I can be captain I have got a lot of experience.
"The games come thick and fast and they are not always going to go your way in this league, but we have responded the way we wanted to.
"You can never look at the league table too much at this stage of the season as there is a massive group separated by only a few points.
"There are going to be a lot of teams going for the same thing because I don't think there is too much difference in a lot of teams
"I think this year there could be a bigger group of teams competing for the top six."
Gunter hopes he and his Reading team-mates can use the hurt of missing out on the play-offs last season on the final day as motivation for their promotion bid this term.
"For the whole of last season we were in and around the top six. I think we only spent four weeks out of top six and then obviously missed out on the play-offs on the last day of the season.
"It was like losing in the play-offs, it finished so abruptly. We were in top six for pretty much all season until the final game.
"Hopefully we can use it and make sure what we were feeling on that last day of last season - we don't want to be in that position this year.
"So sometimes you can use a negative to drive you on and hopefully that will be the case this season."
Gunter has been impressed by the instant impact of the club's new signings, admitting the likes of Glenn Murray and Simon Cox have played a key role in their recent winning run.
"We are in a good place at moment," continued Gunter. "The new signings we have brought in have really settled in and the lads at the top of the pitch are scoring goals.
"We have won games this year by playing good football and also won games by grinding out results and if we can do that and marry them together it will hopefully stand us in good stead."
Interview courtesy of New Era Global Sports
