'Found it super tough' - Reece James makes admission about his role as Chelsea captain
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Reece James has opened up about his early struggles when he first became captain at Chelsea while dealing with injury spells.
The 26-year-old was officially appointed as Chelsea's captain back in August 2023 following the departure of his predecessor Cesar Azpilicueta earlier in the summer.
At the time, James was nursing a hamstring injury that needed surgery and had to pretty much miss out on the majority of the season.
He suffered a couple of other hamstring injuries in 2024/25. albeit to a much lesser extent than in the previous season.
James could not hide that he struggled to fulfill his role as captain when he himself often had to focus on his recoveries.
"I think for me, the easiest thing and probably where I've had the most growth in terms of leadership is when I've been fit," the England international told Chelsea's in-house media team when speaking about his role as captain.
"When I first got the role, I found it super tough, you know, a lot of pressure, and I wasn't fit; I wasn't playing.
"So to get the messages across to the team and help push everyone was tough.
"I was trying to find my feet, as well as push everyone else...
"I think the moment I started to play more regularly is when I've improved a lot and come on."
While James still has to be cautiously managed, he has been relatively healthy this season, having only missed five games for Chelsea due to a hip problem and a small knock.
The fact that Chelsea have the youngest squad in the Premier League means James arguably has a more difficult task than most in leading this squad.
Fortunately, he is not alone in this, with several other more experienced players sharing some of the responsibility.
"Everyone that's involved in that (leadership) group plays a huge part and is the driving force of the team," James explained.
"Because there are times I don't play, and they might be on the field to get messages across or raise standards.
"So I'm thankful for the role they play as well."
Gerry Crisandy is a freelance writer who has covered Chelsea for many years. His work has been published on The Chelsea Chronicle and Pride of London. He grew up idolising Michael Ballack and is a firm believer in expected goals.