Rother takes over as Rams’ captain

RAMSBOTTOM United midfielder Jamie Rother has been appointed as the new club captain ahead of the 2022/23 season.

Rother, who will commence his ninth consecutive season with the club in August, takes over the armband from the retired Tom Kennedy.

The former Salford City captain will bring a wealth of experience to the role, having played 174 games for the Rams since joining in 2015 from the nonleague Ammies, scoring 16 goals in the process.

He was delighted to have been chosen by manager Lee Donafee, moving up following a spell under Kennedy as vice-captain last season.

“Lee and I spoke about it at the back end of the season and once we knew that TK was going to retire, he offered me the role for this coming season,” he said. “I am looking forward to getting started and looking forward to the challenge, one of the biggest ones being an improvement from last season.

“With this being my ninth season at the club, I know we can do better. We are all disappointed how the last season turned out and the lads that were here know that we need to do better.

“Last season wasn’t like us at all, so we need to stick together, play for the manager and do well for the club. We know what we can achieve but last year was difficult, especially with Lee coming in with so little time to prepare.

“Things will be different this time round when the lads come back to training later this month and then head into some competitive pre-season games.”

Rother admits that he is something of an oldschool captain and will dip into his previous spells as a club captain.

“I am getting at that age now where I can pass on my experiences and hopefully the lads will be able to benefit from that,” he said. “That is why we did well under TK over the last few years. He was able to pass on his experiences and I want to do the same and hopefully bring the same amount of success that he did.”

He is thoroughly looking forward to the task but admits that his role is to cajole and support on the pitch but is more than happy to help the manager with his thoughts.

“I consider Lee a good friend and we speak regularly, more so last season in my vice captaincy role and I am always happy to assist him for the better of the team.

“He is passionate about the club and wants us all to do well and I want to help him to achieve his goals for Ramsbottom United.

“And I am excited about the task ahead for us.”