Gary Mabbutt has praised Ange Postecoglou’s decision to hand Son Heung-min the captain’s armband, arguing that the South Korean has helped create the right kind of atmosphere around the group.
With Hugo Lloris being relegated to a peripheral figure this season and with Harry Kane departing to Bayern Munich in the summer, Postecoglou had a big decision to make on the captaincy.
The Australian handed Son the armband and appointed Crisitan Romero and new signing James Maddison as his deputies, and the decision has certainly worked so far, with the trio leading from the front on the pitch.
It was reported by Football. London’s Alasdair Gold back in August that, while Son was a popular figure at Spurs, some at the club, did not previously see him as leadership material.
However, the journalist explained that those people have been pleasantly surprised by the way the forward has stepped up to the plate and taken on the responsibility since being made captain.
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Making Son Spurs captain was a masterstroke
Mabbutt believes that the captaincy has brought the best out of Son as a player.
The Tottenham legend told talkSPORT: “Sonny being made captain, what a great decision that was. Sonny is a great lad. Fantastic lad. You want him to do well.
“The hat-trick he scored a couple of weeks ago and now you are seeing him getting involved more and more with players on the field. Talking with players on the field. Those around him respect Sonny and he’s got younger players around him now that he is a senior figure.”
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Appointing the new leadership group was arguably the most important decision that Ange has had to make at Spurs so far since it was going to dictate the culture around the dressing room, and it is fair to say that he has hit it out of the park.
While Son was the obvious candidate for the captaincy, his decision to make Romero vice-captain has worked wonders, with the Argentine now showing much more maturity on the pitch.
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