Why Derek McInnes trusts Dan Neil as Rangers captain after latest interview

Rangers boss Derek McInnes is yet to make a decision over his captain.

The Gers are heading into the new Scottish Premiership campaign and are in need of a brand new skipper.

James Tavernier departed at the end of the campaign to bring his 11 year spell at Ibrox to an end.

He had been the leader since 2018 when Steven Gerrard handed him the armband.

The right-back will certainly take a lot to live up to and it gives McInnes a bit of a headache.

The new Govan manager has looked to new signing Dan Neil in pre-season and he has continued to prove exactly why.

What has Dan Neil said about the Rangers captaincy?

There is always going to be an element of surprise with whoever is named as skipper this summer.

It has been a period of change for the Gers as four names have departed while seven fresh faces have come in.

One of the latter saw Neil complete a free transfer to G51 after his contract departure from Sunderland.

He wore the armband as the Light Blues faced South African side Kaizer Chiefs in a behind-closed-doors friendly to begin the summer.

The defensive midfielder has now spoken out on the captaincy in an interview with Sky Sports News.

He said: "Obviously, the manager hasn't made his decision yet. If it was something that fell upon me, I would take it in my stride.

"I think the most important thing for this football club is that there isn't just one captain, but a number of captains in the team. For me, everybody's got leadership qualities in their own right.

"It's not just about the person who wears the armband on a matchday."

That could prove to be the perfect mentality that McInnes looks towards before he makes his final decision.

Who else could become Rangers captain?

The Englishman is saying all the right things, but there are other options on the table.

Ben Godfrey has also been named as skipper during pre-season after signing this window.

If McInnes goes for a familiar face, he has already called on Dujon Sterling this summer.

Then other fresh-faces have leadership experience with Lawrence Shankland and Vanja Dragojevic having worn the armband with Hearts and Partizan respectively.

Throw them into the mix with Neil and you have a very tough selection process.

It isn't a bad thing and is actually the sort of dilemma that every manager should want.