PAUL Quinn will sweat for a week waiting to discover if Motherwell manager Mark McGhee has stripped him of the captaincy.
The 22-year-old was handed the armband following the death of Phil O'Donnell in December but sat out the last five games of the season with a broken jaw following a nightclub incident.
Quinn, who was also convicted of an assault in May, will
learn of McGhee's decision when he returns for pre-season training next week with the rest of the Motherwell squad. "I will hopefully find out next Thursday," he said. "I'm not fearing it. As far as I'm concerned, I will come back in as the captain until the manager says otherwise.
"But if it happens (being stripped of the captaincy] I can have no complaints. If I keep it then it will be because I did well apart from that mishap.
"I will just take it as it comes and hopefully the manager will make the right decision.
"The manager doesn't hold grudges," Quinn added. "Obviously I know that I need to work hard to get another wee bit of his trust back and show him that it was a misunderstanding. I want to show that I want to be his captain and a main part of what he is going to achieve here.
"I would probably like to play under him and (assistant manager] Scott Leitch for the rest of my career, they are that good and have helped me that much.
"I was in the wrong place at the wrong time and that is the only way I can describe it.
"He (McGhee] had spoken to me months before it happened about places like that so I can see why he was irritated and upset by it. He was right all along."
Quinn refuses to be distracted by the constant speculation surrounding management and players at the Fir Park club, who qualified for Europe for the first time in 13 years by clinching third spot in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League last season, McGhee's first at the club.
McGhee turned down the chance to manage Hearts and defender Mark Reynolds has been the subject of a failed bid by Rangers recently, although striker Ross McCormack is expected to move on before the new season begins.
Quinn harbours as many ambitions as anyone at Fir Park but is focusing on the forthcoming campaign.
He said: "
You can't worry too much because if we do well the players are going to get sold and the manager is going to move on to bigger and better things.
"That is what you want to achieve and I'm the same.
"I want to do well and get away to a bigger club as does everybody, that is the aim. But for now, the job is to keep the squad together, maybe add one or two to it and go forward."
Meanwhile, Reynolds has urged McCormack to follow his lead and turn down a move away from Fir Park. McCormack is keen on a move to England, with Nottingham Forest emerging as favourites to land the Scotland under-21 striker ahead of Wigan.
"I can't speak on his behalf," said Reynolds. "He is looking at his options and Motherwell is still an option. Hopefully it's an attractive one. We will be playing in Europe and he is guaranteed first-team football here.
"He showed a lot of loyalty in January when he had options and he stayed to help us get that third spot in the SPL. I'm sure everyone at Fir Park will wish him the best whatever he decides."
Reynolds added: "We saw last season the qualities that he's got.
"In some games, you had to just stand back and wonder at some of the things he did."
The full article contains 642 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
