EDDIE Howe labelled Simon Francis the "natural successor" to skipper Tommy Elphick and admitted the right-back's position may have worked against him in the past.

Francis has donned the captain's armband for the past four games after Elphick was sidelined by an ankle injury following the trip to Norwich in mid-September.

And while Howe admits that Francis may have a less vocal approach than his team-mate, the boss insists that the popular full-back possesses all the attributes for the captain's role.

Howe told the Daily Echo: "Simon leads by example on the training pitch and on matchdays. He is slightly quieter than Tommy but he will still do what a captain needs to do.

"He is an experienced player who has seen a lot in his career and is reaching his full potential now and still has his best years ahead of him.

"He is captain material and is the type of player that other players want to be around. This will, hopefully, be an enjoyable spell for him.

"I think, naturally, your captains tend to be in the middle of the pitch because they can dictate and organise everyone rather than just one side of the pitch.

"That is, potentially, why Simon may have been overlooked before but I think he's a natural successor to Tommy."

Although the main onus has been on Francis to provide leadership in the absence of Elphick, Howe stressed that the responsibility should be shared.

He continued: "Someone like Sylvain Distin has years of experience and has seen everything in the game, and is another vocal player in the middle of the pitch.

"You look to the likes of Andrew Surman and Steve Cook and other players who have been around the team for a while to step up and make sure they have an impact.

"You are never looking at one player, you are always looking at a number of players to lead the team."