England interim manager Gareth Southgate had no doubts about retaining Wayne Rooney as captain, hailing the striker as the "outstanding leader of the group".
Despite a disappointing Euro 2016, Rooney was kept in the role by previous boss Sam Allardyce and Southgate sees no reason to change the skipper now he is in charge of the national team.
"The decision to make him captain is quite simple," Southgate told a press conference.
"What I felt from what I have seen around St George's, what I gleaned from talking to staff over the two years, is that he is the outstanding leader in the group.
"The most important thing at this time is leadership, on and off the field, and Wayne has provided that over the last two years.
"The way he has matured into that is really impressive. I have no doubt in my mind about keeping him in that position."
Southgate would not be drawn on the circumstances of his predecessor's departure but admitted his distaste for the __football "industry".
Allardyce was removed after being caught making unguarded comments to an undercover newspaper reporter, including on the subject of third-party ownership of players.
"I have to say I'm involved in a sport that I love and an industry that at times I don't like," said Southgate.
"The detail of what happened last week, I'm not too au fait with. I've heard names mentioned and bits of information but I don't have the detail so I don't think I can speculate about what might or might not have happened.
"There's lots about the industry of __football that I don't like but it's a sport I love, representing my country was something I loved and they're the bits I have to focus on."
Southgate has been placed in caretaker charge for England's games against Malta and Slovenia this month and Scotland and Spain in November, and is not yet considering the longer term.
"I've not had any chance to think of anything other than how we prepare for this week," he said. "Anything beyond that can wait (until) everybody's had time to breathe."
Southgate's first squad selection saw call-ups for Marcus Rashford, who scored a hat-trick for his under-21 team last month after being overlooked by Allardyce, and uncapped Manchester United team-mate Jesse Lingard.
He suggested on Sunday that Rashford going to next summer's European Under-21 Championship would still be good for the striker's development, but joked on Monday: "That depends if I'm the under-21 manager in the summer!
"He was outstanding for us last month, he's starting for Manchester United.
"I think you can all see his ability and the effect he's had on games, but it's his maturity around the camp - he was still the youngest in the under-21 squad.
"It was a discussion we had two weeks ago and I didn't see any need to change that.
"Jesse is a player who we were really impressed with over two years in the under-21s.
"He's now establishing in Jose Mourinho's team and that speaks volumes, and under pressure in the (2015 Under-21) European Championship I thought he was our best performer, so I think it's an exciting moment to bring him in."
At the other end of the experience scale, Stoke full-back Glen Johnson returns for the first time since 2014.
"Kyle Walker and Nathaniel Clyne were the two right-backs last time," said Southgate.
"We lost Nathaniel and the rationale is, the squad the last couple of years we've gone young, young, young, and I'm not sure you can keep doing that.
"I think there's a moment for some experience. In the summer we saw in key pressure moments, there's a bit of a lack of big-match experience.
"To be able to bring a player with 50+ caps into that squad was something we thought long and hard about but we felt it was the right decision."