Pep Guardiola leaving it to Manchester City players to chose a stand-in captain for the injured Vincent Kompany
The former Bayern Munich boss does not believe it should be his decision as to who leads the team when out on the pitch
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PEP GUARDIOLA has told his Manchester City players to choose their own stand-in skipper.
Vincent Kompany remains the club captain but is unlikely to have shaken off his thigh injury in time for the start of the new season.
Joe Hart, Yaya Toure and Pablo Zabaleta have all worn the armband and Guardiola said: “The players have to decide. Vincent is the captain and when he’s not playing, the players have to choose.
“So if there is a problem with the trainer, he has to come to me. The players have to decide who is a good captain.
“If Vincent isn’t playing, it’s for two reasons: one, because he is injured — and that has been the case for the last two seasons — and the other reason is if I don’t pick him, which is what a coach can do.
“I don’t think it’s a big problem. We have people like Vincent, Joe, Yaya, Pablo as well.
“They have to decide who the real captain is for them.”
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Guardiola, less than a month into his City reign, held the same views on selecting a skipper during his time in charge at Barcelona and Bayern Munich.
He said: “I have never believed I should pick the captain.
“I am not in the locker room, I’m not in the meetings when they believe they have to change something.
“They have to choose for themselves the best guy to represent their opinions.
“I don’t like to do it, because I have only been here a month, so they must decide.
“They know each other better than me. It’s their responsibility.”