Wasps' Chris Bell remains vocal after losing captaincy

Bell put in a standout performance in the 20-16 win over Northampton two weeks ago

Wasps centre Chris Bell has said he is still not afraid to speak his mind to team-mates after handing over the captaincy to James Haskell.

Director of rugby Dai Young replaced the 31-year-old as skipper with England forward James Haskell this summer.

"As you can probably tell, I talk quite a lot anyway. You're going to struggle to shut me up," he told BBC Sport.

"If I think there's something to be said I will say it, as will a lot of the other players in the squad."

Bell spent two campaigns wearing the armband at Adams Park and helped the Premiership side qualify for Europe's top-tier competition for the first time in four years last season.

But he has taken on a join vice-captaincy role with Matt Mullan this year.

"To be honest the only thing I did differently last year was toss the coin," he said.

"Dai's asked me to carry on as I had been the two previous years and it's the same for James.

"James is brilliant. He was a huge help to me last season, he's a terrific role model.

"I'm trying to offer similar support to him this year. He's a great man to lead this club."

Wasps have started the season with games against three of last season's top four, beating champions Northampton Saints in the process.

They fell narrowly short in defeats by Saracens and Harlequins though, ahead of the visit of Newcastle on Sunday.

"We're really frustrated with those games. We could have got more out of them. But you have to move on pretty sharpish," added Bell.

"The top four teams, the intensity of their matches is something else when you play them. Most of the games are about one score and when you get that score.

"It's about doing the right thing at the right time under huge amounts of pressure."