BARRY Ferguson has been appointed as the new captain of Blackburn Rovers.

Ewood chief Graeme Souness has decided to replace ousted skipper Garry Flitcroft with the fiery Scotsman next season.

And Souness today predicted the former Rangers star will be an inspirational leader on and off the field for Rovers over the next few years.

"Barry has the makings of a fine captain," said Souness, speaking exclusively to the Evening Telegraph.

"He was at Rangers at a very young age and he's also captained Scotland so people have seen his leadership qualities and I think he'll do a great job for us.

"He's got an angry head on him, which I like, and he gets frustrated when things don't go his way because his will to win is so strong.

"He's the type of player who leads by example and I think the rest of the squad will look up to him.

"Central midfield is also a good place for a captain to play because he's in a position to communicate with all parts of the team."

Souness plans to build his side around Ferguson next season and his decision to hand the 26-year-old the armband is based on the fact he's more likely to be a regular in the side than Flitcroft, whose first team place may be in jeopardy.

The Scot was a hugely successful captain in Scotland, where he led Rangers to the treble 12 months ago.

He was seen as an inspirational leader who led from the front and it's those same qualities which persuaded Souness to offer him the job at Rovers.

As we revealed earlier this week, Ferguson has now fully recovered from the knee injury which has kept him out for the last six months and he's expected to resume pre-season training on Monday - 10 days ahead of the rest of the squad.