Hughes honoured to be the new Peterborough United captain

The 28 year-old was hotly tipped to take on the captain’s armband as soon as he completed his return to Posh on a permanent deal from League One rivals Stockport County. He’s likely to be the ‘daddy’ of the first-team squad now that veteran goalkeeper Jed Steer has moved on.

Full-back Carl Johnston has been named as vice-captain with a five-man leadership group also operating to ensure standards remain high off the field as well as on it.

Hughes, who is not expected to make a return to action for another fortnight as he recovers from a minor operation, said: “It’s a massive honour to be captain. I was delighted when the manager told me. It’s an opportunity for me to give my input to the squad and to be the middleman between the manager and the group.

"I’ll still be myself though. I believe good standards off the pitch will lead to good standards on it. We must all be the best professionals we can possibly be. There can’t be any excuses then.

"We have had some new additions and hopefully we can integrate them quickly and create that family atmosphere. It feels like a good place to be already and hopefully it turns out to be an exciting season with lots of success.”

Johnston added: “It’s great having Sam with us again. He has great qualities on and off the pitch, but we need a lot of people to step up next season not just us two. We’ve just had a very good week and created some strong bonds as we get to know each other.”