Albion boss Steve Coppell is relieved to have two natural leaders in the camp at a time when they seem to be a dying breed.

Danny Cullip normally skippers the Seagulls, but Charlie Oatway took over for Monday's 2-0 home win against Luton when Cullip was ruled out by a hamstring injury.

Coppell said: "It seems to be a common thread with a lot of teams this season. You speak with managers and coaches and everyone bemoans the fact that there aren't leaders around.

"I've got two excellent club leaders and my senior pros are good role models. I haven't got one bad one who sets a bad example.

"I'm lucky in that there are two who are obviously captain-type material.

"Danny and Charlie both stand up and say what they think. They are certainly not yes men.

"They make a point if they think it is valid and they are very supportive if they think decisions are right.

"I have always had good relationships with my captains. If there are decisions to be made involving the players then I will probably consult the captain."

Captains tend to fall into two distinct categories. Some take the lead vocal, others adopt a much quieter tune.

Cullip and Oatway are from the same school of skippers as Brian Horton and Steve Foster, who led Albion throughout the Seventies and early Eighties.

The likes of Steve Gatting and more recently Paul Rogers took a more low-key approach.

Oatway said: "All of the players at the club are winners, but they go about their business in their own way.

"Myself and Danny are probably a bit louder than the rest, but that doesn't mean we want to win more than them."

Whether it is the mouth, feet or both that do the talking, the role of captain does not seem to carry quite the same aura as it used to.

Coppell said: "In most cases there is somebody fairly obviously suited to the role, but what is the role nowadays? It's difficult to pin down.

"I think the era of great captains is not gone but certainly diminished. If you look back at the great sides they did have a leader on the pitch. Maybe with time leaders will elevate themselves or the leaders we have now will be put more on a pedestal, players like Keane and Vieira.

"Lower down I don't think there are any outstanding captains. You just look for somebody who is a man's man. Martin Buchan was the captain more or less throughout my time at Manchester United and then Robbo (Bryan Robson).

"Martin had the nickname of Peter Perfect. He was wonderfully well groomed, polite and a leader by the age of 21 just in the way he conducted himself.

"Robbo again was a leader by example more than anything else. He was more one of the boys.

"Martin wasn't aloof, but he was certainly detached from the run-of-the-mill footballer. Both were good captains in their own way.

"Last Saturday at Barnsley when Danny came off, Chippy Richard Carpenter) took over. He leads more by example than vocally, but both Danny and Charlie are very vocal.

"I always remember Ron Greenwood used to say there are 11 captains out there. I think that should be the way most people look at it.

"I am not saying the captain is an honorary position, it isn't, but there are 11 people out there who know what is right and what is wrong and they should adhere to those priniciples and as such be their own captains."

Sven Goran Eriksson's treatment of the England captaincy has been fiercely criticised by a whole host of former players.

The armband has been tossed around like a dirty hankie in recent friendlies when David Beckham is not around.

Coppell, who won 42 England caps, believes football can learn from another sport by making the job more meaningful on the field.

"I think it's a UEFA edict that once the captain goes off through injury or substitution the armband has got to be passed on to somebody else," he said.

"There is no relevance to an international captain now once the game starts. I have never seen the captain used as a point of reference on the football field, but you see it on the rugby field."

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