He was both. I admit that I think his rep as "greatest captain of all time" is much overblown but there is no denying is ability as a player. Like Fan said, Mark was tough as nails and held his teamates accountable. He was both feared and respected by them. I remember an incident when he felt a team-mate (either
Craig Simpson or
Joe Murphy) was"nt pulling their weight and Mess grabbed him in the dressing room and lifted him up and pushed him into the wall to tell them to pick up the effort.