Tom Lees opens up for the first time about having the Sheffield Wednesday captaincy taken off him
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The centre-half, speaking in the moments after he had spearheaded Sheffield Wednesday’s fourth consecutive clean sheet at the outset of the 2020/21 season, had the armband taken from him and passed to Barry Bannan two seasons after taking over from Glenn Loovens as the Owls’ on-field leader.
Speaking publicly for the first time since the decision was made, Lees made clear it was something he was determined to face up to as he turns into what he sees as a new stage of his career.
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Hide Ad“Obviously it’s not a nice situation,” he said. “It’s something that I was proud of and it’s something you enjoy and relish. But these things happen in football, it’s about how you come back from it. I need to focus on the football.
“We had a long chat and he has his reasons for the decision he has made.
“These things happen in football. I’m not the first person it’s happened to and I definitely won’t be the last. I can either let what’s happened be the story of me and my career and I can be the player that had the captaincy taken off him and never recovered or I can be the player that came back from it. It happens.
“I want to show people how I’ve done what I’ve done in my career, why I’ve played so many games and why I was captain.
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Hide Ad“With the boys, I don’t think it makes a difference with them. I’m exactly the same and I think it’s important I do carry on in the way I did when I was captain. Baz needs the help and it’s not like suddenly it’s all on him now. I owe it to the boys and I owe it to the club.”
Lees, 29, also described the impact Monk has had at Wednesday in moving the culture of the changing room from one that was too comfortable to something more ambitious.
The centre-half is one of the club’s longest-serving players.
“The way the manager works here, we’ve been screaming out for it for many years,” he said. “We’ve had it in little flashes, with Steve Bruce, and we’ve got it now.
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Hide Ad“I told the gaffer I’ve not enjoyed my football as much in a long time, I’ve really enjoyed it since coming back in pre-season and that issue [the captaincy] is something to get out of the way so I can get on with playing my football.
“People might make a big deal out of it but when I spoke to the gaffer, it was important we had an honest chat with each other.
“I told him what I thought and he told me what he thought. He wants to see the player he’s seen over the last few years and I agree with him on that. We’ve only played two games and things can change so quickly, but I’m just determined to show people.”