Wehrman, 33, was appointed Newcastle captain this week after Ljubo Milicevic said he was happy to relinquish the armband after announcing his decision to leave the club at the end of the season.

And the incoming skipper didn't mince his words when he told the Newcastle Herald that the eighth-placed Jets should comfortably have the measure of the bottom-placed Sky Blues on Monday.

‘‘If we're a top-six team, we should dump Sydney," Wehrman said. "We should beat them, and beat them convincingly, but they're not going to go down without a fight.

‘‘But our record at home this year is pretty much impeccable and I expect that to continue. If we play the way we can play, we should be better than them.''

Wehrman, who skippered two clubs during a long career in Norway, said he was honoured to take the Newcastle armband.

‘‘It is an honour, and I said that when I was appointed,'' he said. ‘‘People have been playing football in Newcastle for 100 years.

‘‘They've got great history, with teams like Adamstown, and a lot of great players have come from this area.

‘‘That, to me, is the honour and I'll take pride in that and make sure I do the job right and give it 100 per cent and not let anyone down.

‘‘I feel proud about that because it's close-knit community around here. Everyone knows who you are, and you end up knowing who they are.

‘‘We've had great support this year, especially when we were down and out at one stage. We've turned that around, but we still think we owe them a little bit more.''

Wehrman added: ‘‘I captained my last two teams in Norway, in periods when the captain was injured and stuff like that.

‘‘I didn't do it at a young age. I was probably 28 or 29 when I started doing bits and pieces with Lillestrom, now and again.

‘‘The next club I went to, Fredrikstad, I ended up captaining them. So I've done a bit of it before, and nothing really changes for me personally.''

Wehrman continued: ‘‘The captain is supposed to be one of your strongest players, but your strongest players are only as good as your weakest ones.

‘‘You really need to identify with all that kind of stuff and bring those guys up and help them play at a higher level.

‘‘That's the main thing I think the job entails, but really the armband is just a piece of material that means I have to go and flip a coin and pick a direction.''