Super Eagles defender Calvin Bassey has described captaining Fulham as a privilege after wearing the armband in each of the club’s opening three Premier League matches this season.
The 26-year-old has stepped up as skipper in the absence of club captain Tom Cairney, who is currently injured, leading the Cottagers having been bestowed the honour by Álvaro Arbeloa, who considers Bassey a strong leader.
Speaking in an interview published on Fulham’s official website, Bassey expressed his delight at being trusted with the responsibility.
“It’s a privilege,” Bassey said. “Being able to captain this club is unbelievable.”
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The Nigerian defender, who is now in his fourth season at Fulham, explained that his familiarity with the squad has made the transition into a leadership role relatively seamless.
“Going into my fourth season, I know the boys and get on with everyone, so I just be myself and try to help everyone,” he said.
“Leading comes naturally because of the position I play, being able to see everything and having to communicate as a centre-half.”
Bassey revealed that becoming captain has not changed his personality, insisting that he prefers to lead in a calm manner rather than losing his temper when things are not going according to plan.
“Nah, not really, that’s not me! I’m more chill,” he explained. “Before the game, I’m just happy, smiling as always. I just want everyone to go in with good energy.”
The centre-back added that he would rather allow his teammates to process their emotions before addressing problems collectively.
“I know everyone goes out there and gives 100 per cent, and sometimes we’re just not able to win,” Bassey said. “I know they’re frustrated, I’m frustrated, but I think sometimes it’s best just to leave people be and then speak about it later.”
Fulham have endured a difficult start to the Premier League season, losing all three of their matches so far.
The Cottagers suffered a 3-2 defeat against Chelsea on the opening weekend before subsequent losses to Sunderland and Crystal Palace, leaving them still searching for their first points of the campaign.
Despite the disappointing results, Bassey believes there are encouraging signs under new head coach Alvaro Arbeloa and insists the squad understand that adapting to a new manager will take time.
“I’m excited. You can see from the way we’ve played that there’s a lot of positives,” he said.
“The manager is very calm. I think him being a player means he understands it can be hard at certain times, so he’s able to lead us in a calm way.”
Bassey stressed that Fulham are still in the early stages of Arbeloa’s tenure, with the Spaniard having only worked with the squad for around two months.
“It’s a journey. We’ve only been with him for two months or so, so it’s very new,” he added. “It’s good that we’ve been able to put in performances that we can take positives from, but of course, you always want to improve.”
Bassey is expected to captain Fulham once again when they travel to Anfield to face Liverpool this weekend.
The Nigerian acknowledged the difficulty of the challenge but believes careful preparation and a clear understanding of Arbeloa’s tactics can give Fulham a chance of causing problems.
“It’s not going to be easy. You know what’s coming when you play Liverpool; they have top players,” Bassey said.
“It’s just about doing our homework and seeing how we can hurt them.”
“We talk with the manager about everything that might not have worked, and try and go into every game understanding more what he wants from us individually as players. He’ll set us up in the right way to tackle Liverpool,” he added.
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