Gudjon Thordarson praised the performance and leadership qualities shown by Saturday's elected captained Dennis Lawrence.
Lawrence was in excellent form at the back and earned praise from the club's new manager in what was his first game in charge of the club.
Gudjon told crewealex.net: "There wasn't that many options for the role of captain and Dennis has a lot of experience. He was the obvious choice for game and not only did he play like a leader, his overall performance was excellent.
"I was very pleased with Dennis. He did very well. He is calm and cool and doesn't panic. He was heading the ball out of our box and guiding the ball out of defence. He had an excellent game and he spread his experience all the way through the team.
"He is someone you can rely on and he is a big help out on the pitch, because he was talking to the other, younger players and organising us. It is a vital thing to have."