Reggie Lambe has expressed his disappointment at no longer being the Bermuda captain, but believes his successor Danté Leverock is a “great leader”.

Lambe captained Bermuda in their Concacaf Nations League qualifying opener away to Aruba in September, but was relieved of the role by coach Kyle Lightbourne before their second match at home to Sint Maarten last month.

The 27-year-old appeared to have been reinstated after being named as captain when the Bermuda squad was announced last Wednesday for the match against El Salvador.

It later emerged that was because of an administration error by the Bermuda Football Association and that Leverock would be continuing the captaincy duties. Lambe, who impressed in the island’s memorable 1-0 win at home to El Salvador on Friday night, said he is still perplexed by Lightbourne’s decision to remove him as captain.

“It’s always an honour to lead your country but the coach has made a decision and I’ll just get on with it,” Lambe said.

“It’s a bit disappointing because I’ve worked hard and played a lot of games for Bermuda and wanted to be the captain.

“The coach hasn’t actually spoken to me [about the decision], which is a bit disappointing. You would like to hear from the coach.

“It doesn’t matter, though, as long as we’re winning. Danté is a great leader and it’s brilliant for him to lead us out.”

Lambe has always made himself available for Bermuda, often missing matches for his clubs to return home for international friendlies.

The Cambridge United player produced arguably one of his best performances for Bermuda against El Salvador, playing as a withdrawn striker behind Nahki Wells and created the winner for the Queens Park Rangers forward with a cross from the left.

“The feeling after the game was wonderful,” Lambe said. “To get a victory against a top side is a massive stride forward. We had one of our strongest teams for a while and that’s really good for the community.

“I think we can beat anybody [in the region] as long as we defend like we did and create our chances.

“We’re always capable of scoring and that gives us an opportunity to win games.”

Bermuda will be hoping to have Wells available for their final qualifier away to Dominican Republic in March, and Lambe is excited by the prospect of developing their strike partnership.

“Playing in behind is my favourite position; that’s where I like to play for Bermuda,” Lambe said.

“When Nahki is not here, the coach likes to put me up front, which is somewhere I don’t really want to be. The No 10 role gives me a bit more freedom to get on the ball and look for Nahki making those runs in behind. I know I have the quality to find him.

“It’s brilliant to play alongside Nahki and I hope he continues to come back for Bermuda.”

With two wins from three games, Bermuda are now in a strong position to advance to the Gold Cup as one of the top-ten teams from the Nations League.

“That’s the aim,” Lambe said. “To make the Gold Cup would be amazing. It would be a great honour for us.”