August 6 2001

Dean Austin

DEAN AUSTIN has claimed he is not concerned about losing the Palace captaincy this season, according to his official website.

The former Spurs defender told icons.com: "I want to put the record straight and say that I have not been made aware of any such decision by the new manager and that even if I did I would accept it without fuss.

"Nobody - including me - has a divine right to play every week. We all have to earn that right during the coming months and places are certainly up for grabs.

"Of course, it is a great honour for me to captain a club like Palace and it is something that I cherish dearly but it is definitely more important for me to actually play.

"The captaincy is by-the-by in comparison and I'm not concerned about it at all."