Gareth McAuley was delighted to be named Northern Ireland captain on Thursday.
The 34-year old West Bromwich Albion, who recently made his 50th international appearance, will lead his nation in Friday's Euro2016 qualifier against Romania in Bucharest and admitted it was a great thrill to step into the skipper's shoes which have been temporarily vacated by the injured Steven Davis.
"Obviously it's a huge honour to captain Northern Ireland and Michael had a number of players to choose form," he said at the pre-match press conference.
"But it's not about who leads the team out on to the pitch, it's about playing as a team and making sure we get a positive result in this game."
Northern Ireland currently sit on top of the Group F qualifying table with a maximum nine points from three fixtures while Romania have two wins and a draw from their trio of fixtures to sit second.
