Asian Cup 2015: Matt McKay’s junior coach never thought he would be Socceroos material
SOCCEROOS veteran Matt McKay is proof hard work will always be more important than natural talent, says his junior coach.
THE junior coach of Socceroos veteran Matt McKay says the tenacious midfielder is proof hard work will always be more important than natural talent.
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Former Socceroo Col Bennett coached McKay in a number of junior sides at Mt Gravatt in the mid-1990s, but admits he had not envisaged the diminutive workhorse would wear the green and gold.
As McKay fights for a spot in the Socceroos’ starting XI for their Asian Cup opener against Kuwait on Friday, Bennett said the value of grit and determination was never more evident than in the 31-year-old.
“When I first saw Matt in under-12s, to say he would play for Australia at any age would be a huge call,’’ Bennett said.
“I didn’t think about him at 12 that he would play for Australia.
“Matty’s father was a pretty pushy type of guy and they were competitive people, so that might have helped him (get to where he is). Even at that age, Matty was a tenacious little bugger.
“Because of his stature, you have to be something special. You have to be electric with your pace or have that mongrel and he had that mongrel in him from the start. For a little bloke, he always stood up and never shirked going into a tackle.
“He was only real small then but he had a great engine in him and always gave 100 per cent. He would run all day for you.’’
With McKay’s 50 Socceroos caps yielding one goal, Bennett said his focus should now be to develop a killer instinct in front of goal.
“It’s a huge honour to get in the Australian team but to stay there and get 50 caps is a big thing,’’ Bennett said.
“I don’t know whether he’s going to start in the Asian Cup or not, but what he’s got to do now is score more goals.
“You put Matt McKay on the park and you know you’re going to get 100 per cent out of him but he’s just got to get that finishing touch.
“It would make him a better player because guys like Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard work hard but they score goals as well.”
Originally published as Asian Cup 2015: Matt McKay’s junior coach never thought he would be Socceroos material