Brian Barry-Murphy says he “couldn’t think of anyone better” to be his new captain than Eoghan O’Connell.
The boss confirmed the 25-year-old as Dale’s skipper ahead of the upcoming campaign, saying:
“Eoghan is someone who is an embodiment of everything that we believe we are as a group.
“I couldn’t think of anyone better to represent the Club and us on the pitch, because of his ability as a player and as a person. He represents everything that we are and is the perfect fit for us going forward.
“He also represents the players and supporters in the way we like to play. He has the perfect balance between understanding what we want to do and implementing it.
“He’ll be allowed to look after the lads, represent them and improve them. He is also quite challenging in terms of having his own opinion on the game and strong beliefs. The likes of him, Paul McShane and Jim McNulty are constantly giving us ideas and their own thoughts.
“Eoghan will be supported by the rest of the players. We have a group of guys here who are leaders, and we have a lot of advisors in the squad.
“One of the most rewarding things for me on the training pitch is watching the really young guys who are excelling because of that.
“They almost have different department leads, like Jim, Paul and Eoghan in defence, Matty Lund, Jimmy Ryan and Ollie Rathbone leading the midfield, and Matty Done encouraging the forward players.
“Then there’s Jimmy Keohane and Stephen Dooley who like to go under the radar and do their Captaincy work on the quiet.”