AMIDST Christian Moore's revenge double, Les Hines' bloody broken nose and the plethora of debuts, another statistic almost went unnoticed at Kettering.

Graham Hyde was handed the Worcester City captaincy -- an almost inevitable decision with limited options for Andy Preece.

Who else could have proudly taken the armband after Carl Heeley relinquished it?

Effervescent character Des Lyttle, with huge experience on his side, was an alternative, while another summer purchase, Chris Smith, has shown encouraging signs of leadership.

During pre-season, I even put forward Jai Stanley's name, emphasising that the captain's role may bring the very best out of the often-inconsistent playmaker.

But Preece is confident that 34-year-old Hyde, a former Premier League star with 11 years service to Sheffield Wednesday, is the right man for the job.

"Graham brings all his experience to the captaincy," explains Preece. "He's mainly played at the top level and a lot of players look up to him.

"He's a player that leads by example on and off the pitch. He's an ideal role model to the other players.

"Graham is a different sort of character to Carl Heeley, but in many ways he is also very similar in the way that he plays and gives absolutely everything.

"They are both leaders and very influential. At every ground you play on and in every game, you know what you are going to get.

Preece added: "Graham was fine about being named captain. I handed it to him with no real fuss really.

"Obviously, to the player, it's a very nice honour to have that captain's armband. But it's not a massive deal to me.

"Everybody should be influential and have that same vocal presence on the pitch.

"Des was considered, but he plays like a captain without the armband and he will always lead from the back.

"He plays the same way in every game and he's like a captain to us anyway. He shouts, organises and pulls people around. You need those sorts of characters in the team."

For skipper Hyde, Lyttle and Smith, they all experienced a baptism of fire as Worcester slipped to a losing start in their league campaign.

Football history can dig up a thousand stories of former players that haunt their former side and old-boy Moore delivered to give those studying a PhD in fate and destiny an approving nod.

Aside from the disappointing 2-1 defeat, Worcester's new signings gave a decent account of themselves.

Hyde worked hard to find time on the ball and gave glimpses of his fine passing skills, but he was restrained for spells as City's midfield was outnumbered.

Smith was impressive on the right of defence and stuck to his job religiously without too many worries. He will only get better and better.

It remains to be seen if trialist Justin Thompson, a Canadian U23 international is still around to complete a second appearance.

The no-nonsense former Bury defender is also on trial at a Coca-Cola League One side.