PETER CLARKE will lead Town’s Championship challenge.

Boss Simon Grayson, whose side are in friendly action at Oldham this afternoon, has confirmed the experienced centre-back will skipper the side for the fourth successive season.

The 30-year-old proudly hoisted the League I play-off winners’ trophy at Wembley 10 weeks ago and will wear the armband when Town kick-off in the second tier at Cardiff a week on Friday.

“Peter is a good player and a good leader,” said Grayson, who again quashed reports that star striker Jordan Rhodes is heading for either Blackburn or Fulham.

“He’s done the job for a while now and he has the respect of the other players, so there is no need to change anything.”

Amid claims that Championship rivals Blackburn and Premier League Fulham are fighting it out to sign 22-year-old Rhodes, Grayson responded: “We’ve been talking about this for many weeks now, and nothing has changed.

“Jordan is a prize asset. There is a set figure which myself and the chairman (Dean Hoyle) have agreed is the minimum we would start talking at and nobody has come anywhere near it.

“Every player has his price, of course, but we don’t need to sell Jordan and even if the valuation is met, we won’t necessarily do business.”

Grayson has decided against risking either midfielder Scott Arfield and centre-back Jamie McCombe today, preferring to give them run-outs at Chesterfield on Tuesday.