Newcastle United captain Jamaal Lascelles has thanked Rafa Benitez for guiding him from the bench to the first team.
The 25-year-old was rarely used by Steve McClaren after his move from Nottingham Forest in August 2014.
He spent his first season on loan with Forest before registering only five appearances under McClaren ahead of Benitez's arrival in the March.
After relegation to the Championship, Lascelles was named captain and has kept the armband ever since.
Talking on social media he thanked Benitez , who will leave his role as manager at the end of the month, for trusting him with the responsbility.
"I’m saddened to hear about the departure of the gaffa," he wrote.
"It’s a huge honour that I’ve captained this side with him as the manager.
"I’ll be forever grateful for the trust and opportunity he gave me. Thanks boss."
Towards the end of the last campaign, Lascelles had been vocal with his appeals for the club to keep Benitez in the dugout.
"Since he’s been here, we’ve been doing really well," Lascelles in April.
"Even in the season we got relegated, he came in and we started winning games. In the Championship season we came first, 10th last year [in the Premier League] and now we are finishing strong this year.
“As players we want him here, but we are not in control of whatever is going on. But hopefully he gets tied down. It does worry us that he could leave. There aren’t many managers like him and Newcastle United should do everything they can to keep him."
