Travis Dodd is in the box seat to become Adelaide United's new captain if the club's 'equal footing' pre-season ethos is upheld.
Reds coach Aurelio Vidmar was tight-lipped about the leadership role but admitted he'd be looking at players with a clean slate heading into the 2008/09 Hyundai A-League season.
"There's about seven or eight senior players and as I said I'll make the decision in hopefully about a week," Vidmar said.
"Everyone is on equal footing so whatever happened last year was last year and this is a new season, new players, new surroundings so we have to wait and see how we want to shape up."
"When we see what the best thing is for the team then we'll make the right choice."
Last year's captain Michael Valkanis wants to keep the job but he's being eased back into the squad after recovering from a knee-injury. He had limited game time against Melbourne Victory last weekend and Vidmar was non-committal whether his game time would increase over the coming weeks.
Marquee player Paul Agostino, who replaced Valkanis as captain last year, strained his abductor this week and is set to miss a couple of weeks. His shocking run with injuries may work against him receiving the leadership role.
Vidmar said it was disappointing his striker had been sidelined again.
"Generally when you have a lot of injuries and don't have too much game time, generally your state of mind is never 100 percent," Vidmar said.
"I'm actually going to have a chat with him today. He's got to stay pretty focussed and there's still a fair way to go in the season and hopefully he can get back and get to the levels we require."
Dodd was the club's vice captain last season but spent a fair chunk of time leading the side in the absence of Valkanis and Agostino.
He's been a durable player and scored three goals during the team's trial game against Super League club Para Hills earlier this month.
Dodd said he was 100 percent behind Valkanis but would like the captaincy if it was offered to him.
"I've had a bit of experience with the armband now and I've enjoyed it," Dodd said.
"I don't think I want to prove anything necessarily, I've been around the boys for a few years now and have got to know them quite well and hopefully I've got the respect of my team-mates, I think that is one of the most important things."