Will Boyle celebrating winning goal against Ipswich Town (Credit: Alan Franklin)
For most, the title of “captain” doesn’t only come with proudness and joy, but also nerves and worries of being able to fulfil the role as the leader of the group.
But for Cheltenham Town, 6-foot 3 centre-back Will Boyle those worries are non-existent as he takes his side into their League one.
After the departure of Ben Tozer to National League Wrexham, who must be a massive Deadpool fan to drop down two leagues, the captaincy fell onto Boyle who always saw it as "a natural progression".
The 26-year-old believed he was the “most suitable candidate being brutally honest… without sounding too big headed”, which could easily be backed up with the fact that Boyle is the club’s current longest serving player, coming up to five years at the club this January.
There were no nerves coming from the defender who explained that “I haven’t changed anything and won’t be changing anything that I do around the lads or the way I carry myself”.
This certainly seems the case as his side currently sit ninth in the league table, only a point of the sacred playoff spots.
On the prospect of pushing for a playoff spot, Boyle refrained from setting any targets for a side new in the division, like any well-bred leader would do. “We’ll have to see, I won’t sit here and say I’m confident about that (on the idea of a playoff finish) but there is no reason why not, considering the start we’ve had, but I think if we did do that we’d be punching well above our weight”.
As the new captain, Boyle understands that his experience in the game will be very key for some of the younger players in the squad, especially loanees such as Leicester City’s Callum Wright.
“I can play an important role to make them feel at home”, Boyle explained, who believes that “players play their best football when comfortable”.
This has led the Scottish centre back aiming to “create an environment where everyone has their own opinion and feels relaxed”.
And that relaxed state has mirrored onto the pitch with Cheltenham Town’s brilliant start to the League one season after three wins, three loses and a draw.
However even with the highs of a new season and captaincy, Boyle will have to watch from the sidelines for around a month after suffering a calf injury in the Robins’ 1-0 win over Oxford United last Saturday.
Boyle agrees that he will have to take “the rough with the smooth” as it is just “part of the job and what comes with training and playing”.
While on the side, Boyle will definitely try to be supportive of the team during match days and “tries to look at the positives of the situation” as he will be able to witness the game from a different angle to what his teammates will be seeing on the pitch.
The loss of Tozer will be a massive one for Michael Duff’s side, however with the presence of Boyle at the back for Cheltenham Town, the hole left by Tozer will certainly be reduced to less than a crack.
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