Exeter City manager Paul Tisdale has confirmed that midfield playmaker David Noble has been named as the Grecians' vice captain for next season.

The 28-year-old former Bristol City man wore the captain's armband in the first half of Exeter's pre-season friendly with Clevedon Town and again on Monday night with regular skipper Matt Taylor missing through injury.

And Tisdale confirmed that it was a conscious decision to reward Noble with the armband, who he sees as a role model and a natural leader of his side.

"David will be our vice-captain and because Matt Taylor wasn't playing, he was captain (against Bristol City)," Tisdale said. "David was captain in the half he played at Clevedon when Matt wasn't playing and if he is on the field when Matt is not in the field, then he will be captain.

"He is that type of character. The players trust him with the ball, they listen to what he says and respect him and he is a real team player. I really like the way he conducts himself in the dressing room and on the pitch and he has got real empathy with other players when we play.

"He recognises when they do well and tells them so and when they need to do something else, he tells them in the right way, so I think he is real captain material."

Noble has certainly caught the eye in pre-season despite his lack of match fitness. And the vision he showed in creating Daniel Nardiello's goal in the 3-1 win against the Robins underlines why Tisdale showed great patience in his recuperation from a serious knee injury.

However, Noble's situation perhaps leaves Tisdale with a selection headache. Ryan Harley is almost guaranteed to start the campaign against Colchester United on August 7 and with Tisdale likely to play a 3-5-2 formation, it means he must choose two from his other three central options.

Liam Sercombe, James Dunne and Bertie Cozic will be vying to partner Harley, along with Noble.

"I'm virtually there," Tisdale said. "There are one or two small decisions to make with selections, but other than that, we are virtually there and you will probably be able to pick the team yourself.

"We have a nice shape about us and the players seem to know what they are supposed to do. We are building on last year, we are not starting again. We are taking off from the last quarter of the season and building on it.

"The players are just adding to their game rather than starting again and it gives me a lot of confidence that I can add to the game rather than have to reshape it. I am pretty close to the team that will start in a few weeks' time."

The Grecians have certainly played some eye-catching stuff in pre-season, which has left City fans buzzing with excitement. But Tisdale is not getting too carried away.

"In terms of efficiency and having an efficiency and having and effective team, we look like a team that will do well," Tisdale said. "But of course, it is only pre-season and the proof is in the pudding when it all starts in a few weeks' time."

Meanwhile, Ryan Harley has given the new St James' Park playing surface a ringing endorsement after playing on it for the first on Monday.

Harley has the honour of being the first man to score on the new £150,000 grass – and the last goal on the old Park turf – after netting Exeter's opening goal in a 3-1 victory.

"We've been talking about it for the last year or so that we needed to get a better playing surface that will suit us and hopefully it will help us finish in a lot better position than we did last year," Harley said.

"The old pitch was okay but this is obviously an upgrade and already it's so much easier to play on already.

"It's a lot smoother. Really it's a proper pitch. Last year it was ok but we wanted a surface that reflected where we want to be with the way we play. The manager's pushed it and obviously now we've got what we wanted and hopefully this will help us push on."