Ash Eastham reveals how he felt about Ched Evans being handed the Fleetwood Town captaincy at Coventry City

Ash Eastham wants Fleetwood Town’s fans to know he was not unhappy after seeing Ched Evans named captain at Coventry City.
Ash EasthamAsh Eastham
Ash Eastham

Eastham wanted to quell talk that he was stripped of the armband, stressing that he had only taken it on since February with club captain Craig Morgan injured.

Eastham was named as Morgan’s deputy last summer and, when the latter has not featured, the armband has automatically gone his way.

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However, for Tuesday’s 2-1 defeat at the Ricoh Arena, Barton named a new skipper in Evans as he stressed the need to have more than one leader in his team.

Eastham said: “The fans need to know I’m not downbeat or despondent from the decision on Tuesday.

“The gaffer says he would like a team with multiple leaders where we share the responsibility of captain.

“He does not want it all to fall on the shoulders of one or two players, which I don’t think is a bad idea personally.

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“It definitely did not affect me from a mental point of view on Tuesday.

“I just approached the game as I normally do and no issues whatsoever.

“No armband is going to make me talk more or talk less.

“Obviously Craig Morgan was named skipper at the start of the season.

“That did not change the way I play, even when Morgs is playing as skipper.

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“I like to think I’m a leader on the pitch and I help my team-mates from an organisational point of view and in times when we are struggling in games.

“Regardless of whether the band is on my arm or not, it definitely will not change the way I approach games.”

Eastham also explained that the switch in skipper was a response to the 2-0 loss at Walsall which preceded the Coventry loss.

He said: “Our club captain Craig Morgan is out injured.

“I’ve had a few weeks as captain myself, being the vice-captain.

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“The gaffer just wanted a little bit of a reaction in the game on Tuesday after the second half on Saturday.

“He just felt it might be a good idea to switch it up a bit, he wanted Ched to lead the front line.

“He did not think we were all pulling in one direction for the team at Walsall.

“He felt it might have been good to freshen things up.

“From a personal point of view it was no problem whatsoever.

“It does not change the way I help leading the team as a communicator and a talker on the pitch and I had no issues with that.