Dean Smith has taken the captaincy away from Harlee Dean due to the ongoing speculation over his future.
The defender, who skippered the side last season, is out of contract in 12 months time and, with no agreement in the pipeline, Smith has decided to pick a different captain with Nico Yennaris leading the side at AFC Wimbledon.
And the head coach insisted that his decision has been respected by Dean when he sat down with him at the start of pre-season.
He said: “I had a chat with Harlee when we started pre-season. At the moment he's in a bit of limbo with contract negotiations.
“With that going on it's right that someone else carries the armband. He's behind that and accepts that well.”
Smith confirmed that there had been no bids for Dean, or any other player for that matter, and insisted the defender was fully committed to the cause.
He added: “I can tell you we've had no bids from anybody for any players. There's only speculation that is going around.
“On the first day of pre-season I sat down with Harlee and asked him where he was. His representatives have been in talks with the club but I'm sure his representatives are pitching him around to other clubs as well.
“He's fully committed to the cause which is great for me. I've got a really good relationship with Harlee and that will continue.”
John Egan led the side at Sheffield United with Dean suspended, but Smith would not give away who his first skipper was.
He explained: “We haven't decided that yet. You'll have to find that on Saturday. I have another team to pick.”
