COLLINGWOOD has ended months of speculation by announcing veteran midfielder Scott Burns as club captain for the 2008 season.

Burns, 33, will step into the void vacated by the retiring Nathan Buckley. Josh Fraser will be his vice-captain.

The remaining trio in contention for the leadership – Nick Maxwell, Scott Pendlebury, Tarkyn Lockyer – were named as deputy vice-captains.

While talk has already anointed Pendlebury as a long-term leader, Burns said he saw a broad scope of leadership developing at the club.

“There’s a lot of guys who be could be sitting here now talking [as captain] that we’d all be comfortable with,” Burns said.

“But we’ve got a collective group that’s pretty even and we’ll be spreading responsibility everywhere.

“It’s a big honour, but I don’t feel I’m out there in front of anyone or above any of the other boys.

“We all thought obviously Jimmy (James Clement) would be the next one off the rank and he caught us a little bit unawares [with his retirement announcement after the 2007 season].”

Burns was initially drafted by the Magpies from Norwood in 1992 but opted to stay in Adelaide for another two years before eventually arriving in Melbourne and making his debut in 1995.

He is now a veteran of 248 games and his stature has grown enormously in the past decade. Despite advancing years he continued to play at a high level in 2007 as an unflappable game-busting midfielder.

Burns believes that the extra years on his side will make sure he isn’t overwhelmed by his new role.

“I guess if I was 25 or 26, I’d be a lot more nervous. I’m pretty comfortable now,” he said.

“I just see (captaincy) more as not really about me, but as another step for the football club for this year, and for the future.

“As a junior you don’t really expect to end up at the Collingwood Football Club and I didn’t expect to become captain.

“I guess it’s just evolved from my time being here.”

Coach Mick Malthouse said the club’s player-driven selection process was vindicated by the end result which, in his eyes, was the right one.

“We had input from the player group, the leadership group and from our coaches, and the decision came down to integrity and respect,” Malthouse said.

“When the (new leadership group) was elected it became so easy for us to say: ‘we know the players have made the right choice and we’ll back them up’ because clearly (Burns) is the right choice.

“From there we’ve been able dissect it, have a look and give the younger players like Scott Pendlebury an opportunity to look at how leadership groups are run.”

Malthouse said concerns over Burn’s age were unfounded when considering the depth of his experience. “My belief is that if there’s someone there, you don’t ignore them just because the person may well be in the twilight of his career,” Malthouse said.

“If we knew he was already a leader and would make a good captain, and that he would set us up and give others the opportunity to learn from him, then why go past him?

“There are others ways of thinking [but] we stand by one president, one coach, one CEO and one captain. We’re not going to dilute that.”

Club president Eddie McGuire described the captaincy as “one of the most significant roles we can have at our football club and in the AFL”.

And McGuire said the appointment of Burns was unanimous from the playing group up to the board level.

Despite the endorsement from above, Burns says he’ll stick to what he knows and trusts but will also look to mentor the next generation of Magpie leaders.

“I’m not going to change too much from what I have been in terms of leadership around the place,” he said.

“There’s no doubt my kind of style won’t be about hierarchy.

“I really see my role as empowerment, not so much standing up in front of the group and telling them how it should be done, but trying to get them to take responsibility for themselves.”