Emanuel Pogatetz insists he has finally shrugged off his 'Mad Dog' tag - and admits he is "very proud" to be Middlesbrough captain.The Austrian was handed the nickname by Middlesbrough coach Steve Harrison and he lived up to his reputation with 20 yellow cards in his first two seasons.

But Pogatetz has seemingly turned over a new leaf as he has picked up just two bookings this term and has also been handed the captain's armband after Julio Arca was dropped.

"The Mad Dog is off my shoulders, I don't want to pass it on to someone else now," he told the Evening Gazette.

"Ask Steve Harrison maybe, he put it on my shoulders, now he can put it on someone else.

"People still call me it and I never had a problem with it, it was only this image of just kicking people, that's what I didn't like because I thought there was more to my game. Now I think I've improved and now also people know that I can do different things than just kick people.

"That's the thing that annoyed me but I still play tough, that's part of my game but I can also defend a little bit, I think that's what people didn't see at first."

Pogatetz revealed his delight at being handed the armband by Gareth Southgate.

"I'm very proud to captain the club," said Pogatetz. "The manager made the decision to give me the armband and I'm happy to lead on and off the field.

"It's the manager's decision but I hope I will keep the armband. I've spoken to him and he said he is very happy with the way I'm leading the team as captain."

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