McKenzie Disappointed To Be On Bench

Last updated : 13 February 2004 By Thomas Rooney

Norwich signed the former Peterborough striker in December and he made an immediate impact by scoring two goals at Portman Road to see his new side beat their rivals Ipswich 2-0 to go top of the league(at portman road....top of the league......).

Since then McKenzie has netted on two other occasions against Derby and Rotherham. He was then dropped to the bench for the match with Sheffield United at Carrow Road. He was considered unlucky to miss out as he had scored 4 goals in his opening 5 games. He was also on the bench when Norwich travelled to Milton Keynes last week and could suffer a similar fate when the Canaries take on Coventry tomorrow.

"Losing my place against Sheffield United was a bit of blow to me to be honest," said the Canary new-boy. "But at the end of the day the manager makes the decisions and I have just got to accept them. I can't read too much into it.

"I've played big part since I've come here. I haven't done badly or anything like that and I can't complain about how things have gone.

"It's nothing to do with that. I just think the manager felt he needed to change it for the last two games and I've got no problem with that. We are still winning games, that's the main thing."

There is certainly competition for places at Carrow Road at the moment with Darren Huckerby, Matthias Svensso, Iwan Roberts and Mckenzie himself competing for two places.

"There is a lot of competition there, but I've proved that I can hack it," he said. "It's just a case of waiting for the next opportunity to come along.

"I got a few minutes at Wimbledon, but not really enough to make an impression. I've just got to keep working hard and hopefully the chance will come. The fans have been absolutely brilliant, chanting my name and things like that and hopefully I can give them something to shout about again soon.

"But it's a team game and if I have to sit on the bench for a few more games then that's just the way it goes.

"I've shown what I can do since I arrive here and when I get my chance again I'm sure I'll take it."

Nigel Worthington on the other hand is delighted with the way his strikers have been performing and believes a bit of healthy competition will not do any harm.

"It's great from my point of view that I can think 'which ones shall I pick?' We needed that," said Worthington.

"The boys who are currently on the bench are itching to get on the pitch. The ones who are on the pitch have got to do their bit to keep the shirt, it's as simple as that. It's all down to performance levels. It doesn't matter what age, or how big or how small you are. If you are performing well you are going to keep the shirt. Whether it's first team, reserves or in training you have got to perform because we are watching all the while. Patience is required and if and when the opportunity arrives the players who are not in the side at the moment have got to grab it with both hands."

McKenzie will be hoping that his opportunity will come tomorrow against Coventry where Norwich look to extend their lead at the top of the table.

On the ball.......

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