Wayne Rooney has quickly moved to hand 19-year-old Dubliner Jason Knight the captain's armband for Derby County's clash with Rotherdam today.
Manchester United legend Rooney was installed as the full-time manager this week after calling time on his playing career.
And one of his first moves has been to make the Knight the skipper for his first Championship clash as the permanent boss.
Knight made his senior debut for Ireland last October and has been attracting interest from the Premier League, with Burnley said to be interested.
Rooney has spoken glowingly about the former Cabinteely youngster in the past: “With Knighty, his energy, his attitude, it almost reminds me of myself when I was younger in terms of no fear.
“He’s got an aggression about him, not in terms of how he’s tackling, but in terms of how he runs, how he gets about the pitch.”
Derby County are currently in a relegation scrap, sitting 22nd place in the league, just one place and one point ahead of today's opponents Rotherdam.
