The former Stevenage midfielder discussed briefly wearing the captain’s armband last season and what it meant to him

Charlie Lee has spoken about the pride he felt at captaining Leyton Orient on a handful of occasions last season and insists he will accept whatever decision Justin Edinburgh makes regarding who leads the team going forward.

The captain’s armband was worn by a number of the squad last season with injuries and suspensions at times dictating who was skipper.

At the start of the 2017/18 term, Lee was named first-team captain and David Mooney was made the club captain by then-head coach Steve Davis.

Lee suffered anterior cruciate ligament damage to his knee in August, however, and missed most of the season, so the armband was worn by George Elokobi, Mooney, Alex Lawless, Jobi McAnuff and Joe Widdowson during September to November.

When Davis was sacked on the 14th of November, Ross Embleton took over on an interim basis and handed McAnuff the armband for his three games in charge.

Mooney had largely been the captain once Lee was injured, but following the appointment of new boss Edinburgh on November 29, McAnuff was unofficially made the captain.

The experienced winger did a fine job of leading Orient over the second half of the campaign, but no announcement has been made regarding who will lead the team for the 2018/19 season.

Lee, who captained O’s on five occasions last August, said: “The old gaffer Steve Davis made me captain and the new manager come in and I wasn’t available so he made Jobi McAnuff captain and whatever happens in pre-season, happens.

“If I am lucky enough that the manager decides to give it to me again or he gives it to Jobi or someone else, it won’t bother me too much.

“It was a real honour to captain Leyton Orient and it would be an honour again, but I just want to play as much as I can.

“If the manager decides for me to be captain it will be brilliant and if not, I will get on with it and whoever is captain will get my full backing.”

He continued: “I’ll never forget captaining Leyton Orient. I have been lucky enough to be captain for a lot of clubs in my career, but I had never been named as captain before the start of the season, so having that was a major honour for me.

“I accept there are plenty more experienced players than me at the club, so whatever decision the manager makes I won’t have a problem with it.”