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The 2010-2011 Bundesliga campaign was one that FC Köln defender Kevin McKenna likely wants to put behind him. With a serious knee injury and a back ailment causing the veteran Canadian International to miss most of his club season, the 31 year old is keen to look forward and he is excited to suit up for Canada as it heads into the 2011 Gold Cup.
“I feel good (now). It was a long year and I was injured for most of the (Bundesliga) season with a knee injury and a back injury, but I got through that and got into the last few games of the season. I'm looking forward to the Gold Cup,” said McKenna following a team training session in Alliston, Ontario.
When asked if there is any physical benefit due to the fact that missing games due to injury might mean he is a little bit fresher than in past years, the veteran central defender was quick to state that he is just eager to keep playing.
“Yeah, I think that a lot of the players have had long tough season behind them and with myself I was injured for a long time, so I'm actually really looking forward to playing soccer again,” says McKenna.
When asked if the absence of Paul Stalteri changes his role as one of the most experienced players on the Canadian roster, McKenna was quick to state that he does not expect his position on the squad to be altered significantly.
“It doesn't change that much. I have always been one of the older players and a leader, so I don't think it changes that much.”
When asked about the changing of the guard on the back line and the young central defenders he has paired up with recently, the Calgary native was full of praise for the next generation.
“Dejan (Jakovic) and Andrew (Hainault) are both young defenders. They're good, enthusiastic young players and I think that both have really bright futures.”
With caps to his name and a place as one of the defined leaders on the Canadian squad, the German Bundesliga veteran has a clear vision as to what Canada needs to do to have more success in the next round of World Cup qualifying than it had during the previous cycle.
“I think we are in an important phase now in terms of preparing for the Gold Cup obviously and also looking forward to the World Cup qualifying, which is probably the most important thing for us. We just need to be consistent and I think we need to be tight as a unit. And we also need to be a little more dangerous in the attack and score some more goals. Before we were leaking some goals in the last World Cup qualifiers and we just need to stay tighter as a unit. I think in the last little while it has looked good.”
In past years McKenna has also moved up into the striker position late in games when Canada needed a goal and often gave the opposition another big, physical player to contend with in front of the net. That said, at this point in the evolution of the current version of the national team, the veteran defender believes his primary focus should lie in leading the back line.
“I think that obviously on set pieces I will get myself forward and hopefully I can nick a goal for us. But I think the most important thing for us is to keep it tight at the back and not let any goals in.”
As the Canadian squad prepares to kick off the 2011 Gold Cup, most of the discussion has centred around the match against the United States and McKenna firmly believes that one of the key things for the team will be to remember that Canada has to play three difficult group matches over a very short period of time.
“I think we have one of the tougher groups. I think with the States we are playing a top team and the other two are strong teams as well. Guadalope, we lost to them two Gold Cups ago, so we know what we are up against and we know how tough it is. It's something that we need though.”.
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