ALLY KELLOCK believes new signing Mike Blair will take over his mantle as Glasgow's Mr Motivator.

The retirement of long-serving skipper Kellock in the wake of the Warriors PRO12 title triumph coincided with former-Scotland captain Blair's move to Scotstoun from Newcastle Falcons.

And Kellock is convinced the scrum-half can play a big part in keeping the club at the top of the pile.

Blair is likely to be handed the captain's armband when Glasgow launch their championship defence next month Kellock insists no one is better equipped for the job.

"During my coaching visit this week to the Caledonia BT Rugby Academy at Inverness, one youngster asked me who is the most skilful person I have ever played with," Kellock said. "And the answer is Mike Blair – who is someone who can do everything.

"He is a phenomenal defender and when he's got the ball in his hands, he's great going forward. I'm sure he's going to be incredible for Glasgow on the park in the forthcoming season, but the other thing he's good at is his ability to bring the young players through.

"From a young scrum-half's point of view, there is nobody better that we could have signed than him to help them with their careers.

"I know he's got half an eye on coaching and you can already see the work he's doing with No.9s Ali Price and Grayson Hart.

"You know they will develop massively with his support and the same will be true of Henry Pyrgos when he returns from Scotland World Cup duty.

"For Scotland, Mike was a great captain, and although he is quietly spoken, he put the right things in place and made sure everyone had the knowledge they needed before games. He delivered consistently good performances and demanded the same from the rest of the team."