Jon Dahl Tomasson believes he has made a ‘good decision’ over the Rovers captaincy – even if he’s keeping that to himself for now.

Rovers are searching for a new captain following the departure of Darragh Lenihan who turned down the offer of a new deal and has since joined Middlesbrough.

Lenihan was confirmed as club captain at the start of last season following the departure of Elliott Bennett, though he had also led the side for much of the 2020/21 campaign as well.

His departure has left a vacancy once again, with Rovers yet to confirm who will lead the side for the 2022/23 campaign and beyond.

Lenihan missed only four matches last season, with Lewis Travis taking on the armband in those games, including the final day win at Birmingham City.

Travis appears to be the captain-in-waiting, wearing the armband in the three friendlies in which he has started, with Daniel Ayala and Ryan Hedges others to captain the side in the close season fixtures.

Rovers have been fortunate to have home-grown leaders in recent seasons, and Travis feels the best fit for the role, with the 24-year-old looking to take on more responsibility as he becomes a more senior player.

Tomasson praised the midfielder’s leadership following the Lincoln City friendly, but stopped short of confirming him as captain for the upcoming season.

“You saw Trav here, the way he was helping the team that was good leadership,” the head coach said of Travis, who passed 150 games at the end of last season.

“I have made a good decision (on the captaincy), but I need to tell the right person first.”

There has been a big turnover of the Rovers captaincy in recent seasons.

Grant Hanley and Jason Lowe left in successive summers, in 2016 and 2017, with Charlie Mulgrew taking on the captaincy until his departure on loan in 2019 when he was succeeded by Elliott Bennett.

Lenihan’s exit will now lead to another new captain for the upcoming season as the armband changes hands once again.

Bradley Johnson, another to have captained the team in Lenihan’s absence, also moved on this season.

His departure means that central defender Ayala is the most experienced player in the squad, and the only one above the age of 30.

He has experience of captaining a team to promotion in this division, having done so with Middlesbrough in 2016.

Harry Pickering is also a promotion-winning captain, the left back leading Crewe Alexandra in 2019/20 when they were promoted from League Two.

Tomasson is keen to add more experience to a young Rovers squad who lost a number of senior faces in the summer.

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