NEWCASTLE Jets coach Branko Culina offered no guarantees yesterday that Matt Thompson would retain the club captaincy beyond tomorrow's clash with Wellington at EnergyAustralia Stadium and even indicated the departing skipper was facing competition for his starting position.
Culina said Thompson would have to expect increased scrutiny in his performances after announcing on Wednesday this would be his last season in Newcastle's colours.
The 27-year-old Socceroos representative is expected to confirm within days that he is joining new franchise Melbourne Heart, who have reportedly offered him a lucrative $200,000-a-season deal.
Rather than endorsing the versatile workhorse as the man to lead Newcastle for the rest of this campaign, Culina indicated his tenure as both captain and first-team player would be reviewed on a game-by-game basis, starting tomorrow against Wellington at EnergyAustralia Stadium.
"I have no issue with Thommo leaving," Culina said.
"Every player's prerogative and right is to do what's best for them.
"Thommo is no exception. As long as he does the job for us on the park, he will be considered every week, just like every other player.
"We want competitiveness in the team, and we now have that.
"It's up to Thommo.
"Thommo will be under more scrutiny now because of what has transpired and he has to be strong enough and good enough to be able to rise to the occasion."
Asked if he was happy for Thompson to continue as captain, Culina replied: "I'm happy for him to continue playing, as long as he plays well.
"We'll worry about that [captaincy] at a later stage.
"At the moment it's all about doing the job on the park as a player. He will be the captain on the weekend."
Pressed on whether that meant Thompson was not guaranteed to retain the job until season's end, Culina replied: "He will be captain on the weekend."
Thompson, who has missed only one game in the Jets' history, because of suspension, said yesterday he was determined to continue as skipper and end his Newcastle stint on the highest possible note.
"Of course I want to be captain for the rest of the year," Thompson said yesterday.
"But that's a decision he [Culina] has to make, and if he doesn't want me to, then I'm not captain.
"I'll just have to do what I can.
"Nothing changes for me, no matter where I'm playing next year.
"My mentality won't change going into games and I'll play the same way I do every other game.
"I'll be going out there to win the game and do the best I can, no matter who I'm playing for.
"But if he wants to do that [change the captaincy], that's up to him. Whether I agree with it or not, that's a completely different story."
Asked if he felt he was the best candidate for the captaincy, Thompson replied: "We have about five or six guys who could easily take the armband, so I'm not going to say I'm the best man for the job.
"You've got the likes of Fabio [Vignaroli] and Ange [Costanzo] and Bridgey [Michael Bridges] and Ljubo [Milicevic] who are there and would be more than happy to put their hand up.
"It doesn't matter who it is; it doesn't change anything."
Thompson was appointed Newcastle's captain before this year's Asian Champions League tournament, inheriting the top job after the departure overseas of Jade North and Joel Griffiths.
At the time, Jets management announced a new captaincy criteria, by which the most-capped player in the team would automatically receive the armband.
Thompson's 106 appearances are an A-League record. The nearest Newcastle player is Tarek Elrich, with 66 games to his name.
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