NEIL Danns might have been captain via the process of elimination but that didn’t stop him lapping up every moment of the FA Cup win over Wigan Athletic.

Neil Lennon revealed after the final whistle he had offered the skipper’s role to both Darren Pratley and Emile Heskey before turning to the reliable ball-winner.

With Jay Spearing out of favour, and vice-captain Matt Mills injured, the Wanderers boss was on the hunt for someone to take on captain’s duties – only for Pratley and Heskey to politely pass in order to focus on their own game.

Danns admits he had little time to think about it.

“It was literally about 20 minutes before I went out to warm up,” he told The Bolton News. “He was like ‘here Dannsy you have it’ and I just said ‘oh, right, cheers!

“It was an honour to lead out such a great bunch of boys and it’s another one for my memory banks. After my career, I will always be able to say I captained Bolton Wanderers.

“I skippered Leicester, which was another honour, and I think anywhere you get the armband gives you that sense of pride and today was no different and I got that in abundance.”

Considering the mood of change in the Wanderers camp at present, who is to say the club cannot embark on another cup run?

Danns certainly isn’t ruling it out – and he will be glued to tonight’s draw to see who the Whites draw in the fourth round.

“It’s always exciting here at the moment and you wouldn’t want it any other way,” he said. “You can see everyone is enjoying and there are so many characters here now it’s the same in training. There’s never a dull moment.

“It’s so competitive and you can see that everyone is taking that onto the pitch.

“Everyone knows that with the FA Cup if you can get on a run it adds something special to the season.

“We are into the hat. We could get someone in a lower league or someone who is top of the Premier League, so it’s exciting, not just for us but for the fans and everyone involved.”

Danns is one of a number of Whites players out of contract at the end of the season – but Lennon revealed after the game the 32-year-old is one of a few who are in advanced talks about an extended deal.

The former Crystal Palace star has settled into a new more defensive role under the Northern Irishman and while he was giving nothing away on his contract talks, he admits he is enjoying life under the new boss.

“From me hopefully that’s the plan,” he said of a new deal. “It’s not really in my hands at the moment but I think everyone can see how happy I am with my football here.

“There’s nothing complicated about it so hopefully that will get it sorted.

“It’s not just me. All the boys are enjoying themselves here and you can see how buzzing everyone is to be playing here and we can see something special happening at the moment and everyone wants to be part of that.”

Danns might have been the third man on his list for the captain’s armband but Lennon was delighted with how the experienced midfielder is coped with the responsibility.

“I asked Pratley and he said no because I want to concentrate on my own game, then I asked Heskey and he said the same thing,” he said.

“So then I said Dannsy you take it. He had no choice. I said ‘you are taking penalties as well’. But he is in a good place, so he didn’t mind.

“He is strong, powerful and a very good athlete. He is no mean footballer either. Technically, he is very good. So we trust him to do that role.”