When a team such as Leeds United gets relegated there are likely to be a multitude of reasons for the same, though for a player to come out and directly admit that he wasn’t fit enough during the season is the bravest of things to do.
For all of those supporters who routinely pay their hard earned to follow the club they love week in and week out, the one thing that is asked of the players is that they give 100 percent each and every time they pull on the shirt.
Fans will almost certainly forgive most things, but not giving one’s best isn’t one of them.
Former Leeds player, Weston McKennie, was a disaster during the time that he spent at Elland Road, and big things were arguably expected of a player that had been signed on loan from Juventus.
As the Yorkshire-based side continued its plummet down the English top-flight, McKennie was found wanting most weeks, and it was therefore no surprise when Leeds didn’t take up a permanent option to sign him.
“I’m not one to make excuses at all, but I don’t think my physical fitness was the best because I was so used to being at Juventus and playing every three days. Game fitness is so different to training fitness for me,” the USMNT star admitted on the The American Dream podcast.
“I become game fit by playing games, and you can’t replicate that in training, you can try, but I can’t do that. Playing one game a week, I didn’t feel I was in the best shape in terms of being able to last a 90-minute game.”
Though it’s refreshing to hear a player speak so honestly about the standard of his performance, it will surely leave a sour taste in the mouth for many.
If McKennie wasn’t fit, the question has to be asked as to why he was being played at all.
Weston McKennie: Previously – Useless and Fat. Now – Useless, Fat and Lazy