SOUTHEND United manager Phil Brown relieved John White of his captaincy duties for the clash with Oldham Athletic in a bid to ease the pressure on the right back.

Adam Barrett skippered the Shrimpers for Tuesday night’s 1-0 defeat against The Latics.

And Brown felt White benefited from just being able to focus on his own game.

“John has looked at times like he’s been carrying the weight of the captaincy with his performances so I just thought I would take that pressure off him,” said Brown. 

“I had a conversation with John and Adam together but for me Adam’s been a leader and a captain all the years he’s played the game.

“He was probably a captain when he was in the cradle but this was certainly a combined decision which John was fine with.

“It allowed John to focus on his own game which he was able to do to the best of his ability and it was probably Adam who was more uncomfortable with it due to his respect for the club captaincy role.”

Barrett was Blues’ captain during his first spell with the club which ended in the summer of 2010.

But Brown has yet to decide who will wear the armband for the rest of the season.

“I don’t know what will happen from here as it depends on whether both of them have played well enough to keep their place,” explained Brown.

“But the bottom line is Adam will always play as a captain whether he’s actually wearing the armband or not.”

White, who has been captain since signing in 2013, had been out of the side for four games before returning to the starting line-up against Oldham.