Dundalk FC captain Chris Shields says that it is “an honour and a privilege” to be handed the club’s armband by manager Seán McCaffrey.
The 21-year-old was confirmed as the new skipper last Thursday, following the departure of Simon Madden to Derry City in the off-season.
Madden had taken over the armband from Liam Burns, and Shields admitted that he expected Burns to be announced as captain after he returned to Oriel Park following a one-season absence.
But now that Shields has been chosen, he is relishing the challenge, as he prepares to lead a squad that has an average age of less than 22.
“I’m absolutely delighted, at the age of 21 to be captain of such a big club,” Shields told dundalkfc.com. “It’s an honour and a privilege.
“I’ve had experience of being captain back at Bray when I was given the chance at a young age too, so hopefully I can take what I learned from there and bring it on to here.
“I was playing with the Bray first-team from when I was 17 and held down my position in the starting 11 from when I was 18.
“I have a lot of experience at a young age, which can only help, especially for the lads that are younger than me.”
While the news was only confirmed last Thursday, Shields says he knew about it for a number of weeks.
“It was about three weeks ago that Seán pulled me aside and told me the news and told me to keep it under wraps,” Chris explained.
“But I think a lot of the squad have known for a while; Seán announced it in training about ten days before it was made public.’
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