CHRIS Hough has stood down as Bewdley Town's captain to concentrate on his own form ahead of tonight's mid-season title shoot-out at Shifnal Town.

Hough and manager Craig Payton have come to the joint decision that he should hand over the armband to John Hardiman.

Bewdley were worried that the attacking midfielder's disciplinary record had suffered since he became skipper.

Payton said: "Chris has become a bit too involved being captain and he's picked up a few too many bookings trying to speak up for his team-mates.

"John Hardiman will be our captain for the time being, but that's not necessarily on a permanent basis.

"Chris needs to concentrate on his own game rather than worrying about everyone else and the decision was his as much as mine."

Payton has drafted reserve team right-back Mike Harris into his first-team squad.