WHEN it comes to captaincy, Carl Magnay has been around the best.

It may have been in his formative years as a Chelsea hopeful, but Magnay was part of the set-up under John Terry.

A reserve team regular at Stamford Bridge, Magnay may not have been directly under Terry’s wing, but good habits rub off.

Newly-appointed as Hartlepool United skipper ahead of Saturday’s National League opener with Dover, Magnay is out to set the standards and lead by example; just like Terry did at Chelsea.

“How will I captain?’’ he mused at the club’s Durham training ground this week. “I’m a leader on the pitch. Off the pitch it’s important to be yourself, not be something you aren’t. I’ll take a lot from Bill Paynter who did a lot off the pitch.

“On it, I’ll try and lead by example as much as possible.

“Expectations will be different this season, we haven’t had a winning pressure here for a long time. There’s been a big turnaround in players, so maybe some lads who haven’t had that pressure aren’t here anymore.

“New lads coming in have dealt with pressure, in this league especially, and that sort of pressure won’t be new to them.

“This division offers a different challenge. Surroundings are different – this is a mental thing to contend with when you go to some grounds which aren’t as flattering. You have to deal with it and get used to things off the pitch too. Playing in front of five-six hundred fans at times and I think the lads are prepared for that.’’

Pools should be in the mix for an instant return to the Football League and are among the bookies’ favourites for promotion.

Magnay was part of the squad relegated last season, albeit he did miss the majority of the campaign with a desperately bad knee injury.

Saturday is a complete fresh beginning for everyone at the club, but Magnay hopes to draw on one experience of last season.

The Victoria Park faithful were in fine voice at the final game of the season as Pools beat Doncaster, but went down on the back of Newport’s win over Notts County.

The atmosphere generated that day was as good as ever.

“Saturday is at home which is a nice start and walking out as skipper will be a nice moment for me. I want the fans to know how valued they are by the squad,’’ admitted Magnay.

“We have seen how important they are for us, the levels of support last season was phenomenal.

“Look at the Doncaster game, as players we were feeding off the fans’ reaction and we knew something had gone on around the hour mark – within 10, 15 minutes we had turned it around.

“For me, they turned it around and I want to use what they showed that day in every home game going forward.

“A lot of teams will try and think they can expose us physically, but we are prepared for that this year and we will be fine if teams want to do that.

“It’s about what we are good at and do that and we will be fine. Bouncing back isn’t easy after being in the Football League for so long, there has to be a positive mentality, sacrifices made and it’s my job as captain and the manager’s job to make sure they are.’’

Pools have been too soft in recent seasons, lacking authority on the pitch on too many occasions.

It’s something Magnay and the current squad are out to correct.

He added: “I feel proud – this is a great club and growing up I was well aware of it and how well it was ran.

“The aim is to win a trophy this season – promotion by the play-offs or outright. That’s my personal goal and what I want to rub off on the squad.

“It’s a nice surprise, it could be any player and there was five or six of us who could be captain. As a squad we have five or six who could be captain.

“There will be other voices in there, which I think is needed and it’s good for the squad to have that.

“I’m delighted to have the fair and trust of the manager and I will do all I can to repay that faith.

“I’ve always been vocal as a player, I like to open my mouth and I like to move others around into positions to cover me !

“I want the lads to be motivated, going into every game knowing what it means to get in the Football League. We are in this league for a reason, but we don’t want to be in it longer than ten months.

“I will letting all the lads in the changing room know that before we go out on the field.’’