Dulwich Hamlet are pleased to announce that David Ijaha is the Club’s new captain for the 2019/20 season

The 29-year-old joined the club this summer from Welling and has impressed with his performances in pre-season. He scored his first goal for the club on Saturday in Dulwich’s 2-1 win over Tonbridge Angels.

“We’ve appointed David Ijaha,” said manager Gavin Rose. “He has led at Welling and at Whitehawk previously, and he’s a natural leader.”

“I spoke with maybe six or so of the boys - including Dave - who are all captains themselves anyway. And whilst I told them Dave is the captain, I’d still expect a lot from them in terms of leadership,” Rose continued.

“We’ve got some good leaders in the changing room and I’d expect them to continue leading, regardless of the armband,” he said.

Ijaha is relishing the opportunity of leading the team out in front of the home crowd at Champion Hill for the first time. “You can’t not be excited about that, so I’m looking forward to it,” he said.

The new captain feels that Dulwich are assembling the right components to mount a promotion challenge this season. “There’s a good mix of experience and youth, and boys that want to do well,” he said.

“I’ve played in this league for five or six years. I’ve done well in this league so I like to bring that to the team. That’s one of the main reasons that Gav signed me.”

He also explained why he’s a good fit for the armband. “I’m a winner, I love to win,” he said. “I don’t like losing!”.

You can come and cheer on Dave and the rest of the boys tonight at Champion Hill, as we play Wealdstone at 7:45pm. Gates are open from 6pm.

Photo: Ollie Jarman