SEAN O'Hanlon has described captaining Swindon Town as an 'honour' and admits he would relish the job on a full-time basis if a vacancy was to arise in the future.
The 21-year-old led his team to a 2-2 draw at Oakwell on Saturday in the absence of injury victim Matt Hewlett.
The Bristolian is expected to resume the captaincy against Sheffield Wednesday tomorrow night, but should he not make it then O'Hanlon will be happy to continue in the role.
Another towering performance saw O'Hanlon hailed as the 'best centre-half in League One', while the Barnsley camp praised the player for his honesty in refraining from theatrics after a bad tackle.
O'Hanlon is not about to let such praise go to his head.
He said: "I'm the sort of lad who just gets his head down, works hard in training and gives 100 per cent out on the pitch.
"It's nice to hear people praising you but I'm still young and I'm still learning."
The manager is anxious that O'Hanlon's performances could attract admiring glances from other clubs.
He will hopefully take some comfort in the fact that his young defender is totally focused on progressing his career with Swindon Town.
O'Hanlon said: "I've got a house down here, I'm settled and enjoying my football."
As for the captaincy, O'Hanlon admits it will be a tempting job at some stage.
He said: "Matty Hewlett was injured on Saturday and it was a real honour to lead the team out.
"It gives you that extra bit of responsibility.
"I'm not really thinking about that though.
"My target is just to keep playing, clocking up more experience and hopefully helping to bring the club some success."
As for the praise from Barnsley at the weekend, O'Hanlon revealed just why he bounced up so quickly after a particularly bad challenge from Tykes' midfielder Chris Shuker.
He said: "I knew the lad was from Liverpool and I didn't want to see him sent off."
The next challenge for O'Hanlon is to help Town take advantage of their game in hand.
He said: "It's a big game against Sheffield Wednesday. If we win it then we're right back in the top six."
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