Steven Gerrard has stripped England defender Tyrone Mings of the Aston Villa captaincy and installed John McGinn in his place.
The Villa boss had hinted strongly at a change throughout last season when he would confirm Mings only as his ‘short-term’ captain, and he has now promoted McGinn, with goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez as vice-captain and Ashley Young as club captain.
Gerrard said: ‘Naturally, I have had to have a discussion with Tyrone Mings and have explained my reasons for making this decision.
'More importantly, I believe that not having the responsibility of the captaincy will allow Tyrone to focus more on his own game which can only benefit him and the team.