US Republican presidential contender John McCain shook up his team Wednesday, in the wake of growing Republican concern about its ability to compete against Democratic rival Barack Obama.

Republican presidential candidate US Senator John McCain speaks to the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) 25th Annual conference and political convention in Washington, DC, June 28, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters, File Photo) 

McCain's campaign manager Rick Davis told reporters that Steve Schmidt will take over day-to-day operations of the campaign.

Schmidt, a veteran of the 2004 presidential campaign of President George W. Bush, will be in charge of everything from messaging and communications to the political structure, organization and scheduling.

His top priority will be to stop "unforced errors in the campaign".

Schmidt will be assisted by Mike McDonald, a fellow veteran of the Bush campaign.

Mike DuHaime, former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani's former campaign manager and another longtime associate of Schmidt, will also take on more responsibility.

McCain advisers reportedly said that the shakeup is a direct response to the missteps in previous messaging and scheduling that didn't give McCain a good platform, and a political structure that many thought was misguided.

(Xinhua News Agency July 3, 2008)