Manchester United forward Wayne Rooney has said his inspirational dressing-room speeches have come about because he feels he has a captain's responsibility to galvanise the team.
Rooney has been given the armband for both United and England this season, but his national team manager Roy Hodgson said in October that Rooney's Liverpool accent meant he would not be able to stand up in front of a room of people and lecture them.
United manager Louis van Gaal, though, said a Rooney team talk helped spur his side on to beat Tottenham last month, and Daley Blind said the 29-year-old motivated his colleagues to beat Manchester City on Sunday by telling them about previous derby defeats.
"There are though obviously times when you have to speak up," Rooney said. "I did that before the Tottenham game because I felt I had to.
"We had had a bad defeat in the FA Cup against Arsenal and I just wanted to reiterate to the players what our targets were for the remaining games of the season. The players responded to that and we have had some good results."
Rooney said he did not prepare his speeches, adding: "I didn't even write anything down for my wedding!"
While he has played under some successful leaders, including Roy Keane, Gary Neville and Nemanja Vidic at Old Trafford and David Beckham, John Terry and Steven Gerrard for England, Rooney said assistant manager Ryan Giggs has been of most assistance as he looks to lead United his way.
"You can obviously look how people have done it before you," he said. "There are different styles and different ways other people have done it, but I have to be my own person and do what I feel is the best way for me to captain the team. That is all I try to do.
"Giggsy wasn't captain here full time in my time at United but the things he's done have been a big help and still now. There were also leaders like Roy Keane, Gary Neville and David Beckham.
"There was Steven Gerrard and John Terry, who were fantastic captains. You can't say I want to be like him or I want to be like someone else. You have to do it your own way."