Scott Burton admits he is ‘proud’ to captain Chester and will do his utmost to make a success of the role.

The 30-year-old made 125 appearances and won three promotions with Salford City, and has followed former Ammies management duo Bernard Morley and Anthony Johnson to the Blues, who are preparing for life in National League North having suffered relegation last season.

Burton has been confirmed as skipper for the new campaign and intends to lead by example, revealing he has regular conversations with the joint-bosses regarding areas that need strengthening and transfer targets.

“When I first came down to the club, I knew it was going to be a good move,” he said.

“It’s always nice to be named captain and it’s a proud moment to be given the captaincy at a club the size of Chester.

“When I spoke to Jonno and Bernard when it looked like I might leave my contract at Salford, they mentioned the captaincy and that they’d like me to come in to see them here.

“You take it with a pinch of salt as they are leaders across the dressing room, but I’m delighted to be captain and I will lead by example on the pitch.

“But captaincy is as much off the pitch as it is on for me. I like to lead by example before the match, in the warm-up, post-match, and I’m talking to Bernard and Jonno daily. We’re talking about potential new signings, areas where we can strengthen so there’s more to it than just 90 minutes.”

Burton’s first taste of the Deva was in-front of a sell-out crowd to face Liverpool in a pre-season curtain-raiser, Jurgen Klopp’s Reds running out 7-0 winners.

Burton was fortunate enough to swap shirts with former England star James Milner post-match, but joked how team-mate Steve Howson nearly ended up taking the jersey home with him.

“I asked him at half-time if he’d be ok to swap shirts and he stayed behind to wait for me in the tunnel at the end, absolute class,” he said. “He signed it too.

“But I nearly lost it to Howson! Jonno has got involved and somehow Howson has got Milner’s shirt and he’s running down the tunnel with it!

“But I got it back and it’s taken pride of place on my young lads’ wall back home. There’s one of Ryan Giggs’ shirts on there, and one of mine from the FA Cup, so hopefully it’s a nice little collection for him.

“They were class from start to finish, great to deal with. You look over and Klopp is watching us warm-up for 15 minutes and we’re there thinking ‘why isn’t he watching his own team? He’s got a real presence.

“That certainly made us focus more in the warm-up! I’m not sure we touched the ball much for 60-70 minutes but what a great experience for us to play against those players.”

The Blues have recorded back-to-back pre-season victories at Ramsbottom United (1-0) and Runcorn Linnets (5-3) over the past 10 days but Burton admits there is a lot to work on ahead of Friday’s trip to Llandudno (7.30pm) and Saturday’s home clash with Bury (3pm).

“At Ramsbottom the pitch was very dry, but I thought we kept the ball well and deserved the win in the end,” he continued.

“At Runcorn, I’m not quite sure what happened but we all seemed to have a bad game. It was one of those days where nothing seemed to go for us.

“Jonno and Bernard said that was the last game to really do what we wanted. From this weekend, starting at Llandudno I think the reins will be on us and it will be more about shape and tactics with and without the ball. We need to knuckle down now and start the season well.”

Burton believes the capture of 22-year-old midfielder George Green could prove an inspired signing, after he was unveiled as the Blues 10th summer arrival on Tuesday.

“George is a really good footballer, he’s got a lot of talent,” he added.

“He’s had his issues off the pitch but if Bernard and Jonno keep him on the straight and narrow then he will be a great signing.

“When it looked like it might happen I got in contact with George, just spoke to him a few times, because we played with him at Salford.

“He seems in a good place and hopefully we’ll now see the best of him.”