Ipswich Town: Kieran McKenna on Dara O’Shea and Sam Morsy as captains.

Ipswich Town manager Kieran McKenna believes new skipper Dara O’Shea is prospering in the role after replacing the legendary Sam Morsy, but he insists the club requires more than one leader.

Republic of Ireland international O’Shea, 26, was given the captaincy this summer following the unexpected retirement of history-making skipper Morsy, who guided the Blues to back-to-back promotions.

When asked how they compare as leaders, McKenna said they had many of the same characteristics.

He explained: “I don’t think there are any two captains who are the same, and probably no two good captains, because we’re all different, and if you try to captain like someone else, you’re probably not going to do a very good job because it won’t be authentic.”

“They have several traits with people: they are both highly competitive, very professional, and extremely motivated to succeed for themselves, the team, and the club.

“So they have a lot of similar traits, but one grew up in the Midlands with an Egyptian family and the other in Dublin with an Irish family, so I wouldn’t expect them to have identical personalities, and they both bring their own traits to the role.

“We are aware of Samy’s contributions to the club throughout his tenure here, as well as his leadership abilities. “And Dara, even last year, was an excellent leader alongside Samy and a few other personalities.

“This year, he is stepping up even more and we are really happy with him as a player and what he brings as a person as well.” Dara O’Shea has taken over as skipper, and Azor Matusiwa has taken Morsy’s number and role

. (Image by Ross Halls) Speaking on Town TV last Friday, the Town manager emphasised that other players must step up and take on leadership duties around their new skipper.

“I have to say, it’s not just about Dara, it can’t be, and it was never just about Samy – as good and as strong of a captain as you could ever have for a group,” he intoned.

“A captain cannot do it by himself. There had a very strong leadership group beneath him, and it needed to expand and develop.

The summer of transformation will be a masterstroke or a blunder. “It has changed this year (the leadership team). It was probably Janoi (Donacien) and Dom Ball when I arrived, and it has changed throughout time, and it will undoubtedly change this year.

“We must develop. We know we have some good leaders in the club, but we also need to foster such attributes in other players; some of the players who have done so well in recent years did not arrive, but rather left.

“You have to develop those traits, those personal abilities, and we have to support them with that, of course, and being a part of a successful group can really boost the players’ confidence and self-esteem in terms of their status in the club.

McKenna says everyone must back O’Shea as the new captain (Image: Ross Halls). “It’s about how we support Dara in the dressing room, in terms of other leaders emerging and growing around him, as well as how we support him as a staff and as a fan base.

“But his dedication, professionalism, and desire to succeed for this football club are unparalleled, and he has risen up to the challenge admirably.

“And we’ll continue to try and build everything around him to try and help him be the best captain that he can be, and to help us be the best team that we can be.”

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