Gillingham midfielder Shaun Williams has spoken of his delight at being named the new club captain.

Williams, 36, was chosen by manager Neil Harris to skipper the side ahead of the new League 2 season, announcing his decision to the team on Thursday morning.

“It is a privilege and an honour and something that myself and my family really appreciate,” said the Irishman.

“I am not going to change, with or without the armband, I am still going to be the same, but there are a lot of leaders and characters within the dressing room. I don’t have to say an awful lot because the dressing room leads itself.

“I lead by example, set high standards, set expectations of myself and team-mates and just try and drive it forward.”

He has an able deputy in Max Ehmer, who has played over 350 games for the Gills.

Williams said: “His performances warranted a starting place in the team every week, last season I thought he was fantastic throughout the whole season.

“For a man that has been here so long he definitely deserves to be involved.”

Harris signed Williams last summer. The midfielder had already played over 100 games for MK Dons and more than 250 for Millwall. He came to the Gills after a year with Portsmouth.

Williams played 38 league games for the Gills last season, taking the armband for much of the second part of the campaign after Stuart O’Keefe was left out.

Speaking about his newly named club captain, Harris said: “He is a different sort of leader for me.

“Stuart O’Keefe last year was a leader by voice and energy.

“I had a captain in Sean Morrison at Cardiff who was a huge personality, a big leader of men, very aggressive on the pitch. Tony Craig was very similar at Millwall.

“Shaun is completely different. He is a top, top pro and his experience speaks for itself. He is the oldest outfield player in the group.

“He knows me better than anyone else in the group, he knows how I work, and when I put sessions on he knows what I expect from each session.

“He knows how to read me as a person, which I think is important, from day one.

“It is a different type of leader, a silent leader, a leader by example, by doing and by professionalism and by standards.

“He doesn’t have to get someone around the throat to be a good leader, he can do it with a stare or a quiet word.

“The biggest thing of all is that he is a bloody good player and a bloody good bloke.”