STEVE Clarke insists he is in no rush to name his Reading FC captain for the upcoming season – admitting he doesn’t understand the fuss that surrounds the issue.

Paul McShane, Chris Gunter and Danny Williams have all been linked with the armband since Alex Pearce and Jem Karacan departed.

Jordan Obita captained the side against Bristol Rovers on Tuesday, but that was influenced by the fact he was due to complete the 90 minutes.

Three pre-season games remain before the start of the Championship campaign on Saturday, August 8 and Clarke says he’ll leave it until the last possible moment before announcing who will lead the Royals out next season.

“The captaincy is something we’ll look at ahead of the start of the season,” he said. “I’ve never been one to be overly bothered by the captaincy situation.

“You want 18 captains, you want everyone to be a captain and a leader.

“Anton Ferdinand was the most vocal leader on the pitch against Bristol Rovers but he didn’t need an armband for that, which is what you want from everybody.

"It’s something we’ll assess later in the pre-season, it’s not something that I’m thinking about right now.”

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McShane was left out of the squad on Tuesday as a precaution but is certain to be a regular starter this season.

The 29-year-old is vastly experienced and has 31 caps with Republic of Ireland to his name, as well as over 200 league appearances.

He has emerged as a strong contender for the armband despite only just arriving in Berkshire this month, and Clarke was quick to praise the defender when quizzed about his potenital to be skipper.

“Paul’s an aggressive defender,” he said. “He’s a leader on the pitch which is quite a rarity these days. Not too many people have those characteristics.”