Eddie Gray on Leeds United's great captains and Ethan Ampadu's best leadership quality

The Wales midfielder is manager Daniel Farke's man on the pitch.

Vice-captain to Liam Cooper in the pair's first season at Elland Road, he nevertheless wore the armband more often than not, with the centre-back's Leeds career in its closing stages. He officially took the role two years ago.

Although he has been known to pick up the odd injury, Ampadu is rarely rested, even in cup football, missing just 22 of 155 fixtures since signing.

Gray can see why.

"I don't know him personally, so I don't know what he's like around the dressing room but even if he's not involved in the game himself a lot, he seems to be directing others," said club legend Gray, who has served the Whites as a player, coach, manager and now ambassador. "That's an important thing.

"When you watch him play, he's not on the ball all the time. You never see him having a shot at goal.

"But he directs the rest of the team.

"That's his great strength. I think that's what the manager appreciates and the rest of the players appreciate that.

"That's an important thing for the rest of the players to listen to somebody on the football pitch and have confidence in his ability to be right.

"That's probably what Daniel sees in him. That's why he's captain."

Former Scotland winger Gray has given an exclusive interview to this weekend's Yorkshire Post ahead of his "Evening With" at Guiseley Theatre next month. It is set to be a night of reminiscing from one of the true icons of Don Revie's great teams of the 1960s and 70s.

One of Revie's great signings was Bobby Collins, who he signed in 1962 to be his captain.

"Probably the most important player at the club around that time was Bobby Collins because Bobby had done it all – great Celtic player, great Everton player," said Gray, a fellow Glaswegian who joined as a teenager the following year and was with the club until 1984.

"Everybody thought when he came to Leeds, it was a swansong for him but Bobby won football of the year (from the Football Writers Association in 1964-65).

"I think Don saw his character and his determination to win as the focal point for the rest of the players – this is how you play the game.

"It was his determination, his desire and his willingness to work hard and win matches. That's what you're out there for.

"Bobby was probably the most important player that ever came to the club.

"I think Don knew when the team left the dressing room with Bobby in front, it was like him walking out in front. He owned the pitch. He was the governor.

"Don could concentrate on other things to improve the side, introducing young boys into the side.

"One of the best players I ever played with was (Johnny) Giles. Giles was a great player, one of the greatest players.

"I asked John, when he was younger, ‘ Why did you come to Leeds United?’ Because John had won the FA Cup with Man United in ‘63 and came to us.

"He said, 'I knew Bobby Collins was there and I knew they must be doing something right.'

"Bobby brought the attitude.

"I think it would have been very difficult, even for Don, to get the team into the position that we're in if it hadn’t been for Bobby guiding them on the pitch with his knowledge of the game, his determination and his will to win.

"If, just for instance, he wasn't playing well, he still had an influence on the rest of the players. That's important.

"Bobby might not have been great every game, but he made sure the rest of the players were up for a battle."

Collins was succeeded as captain by Billy Bremner.

"I think Billy would have learned a lot from Bobby, watching how Bobby conducted himself on the pitch as captain of the team and what he brought to the side, not just his own individual ability, but the ability to get the best out of others and knowing what their level was and what they could do and what they couldn't do," said Gray. "That's an important thing in a game when you're playing with players.

"Bobby played in a great Celtic team that won you know, the Coronation Cup (in 1953) and all the best teams in Britain were in that.

"Bobby played with great players. That's what he used to say to the players. Bobby didn’t stand on ceremony.

"If you weren't doing the job, you wouldn't have got through the gates of Celtic Park. That was how Bobby was.

"I still think to this day, we wouldn't be sitting here talking about Leeds United as one of the great powers in the game, which they are, if it wasn't for Bobby coming to the club."