Weston McKennie: I try to help the team where I can

When he’s needed elsewhere on the pitch, he’s always there for the team in cases of emergency. “I try to help the team wherever I can. For example, this season I’ve also played as a centre back,” said the American, who prefers to play in midfield so he can cause the opposition defence more problems. “I want to score more goals,” said McKennie, who has scored just once for the Knappen this campaign in a 2-0 win over Düsseldorf in pre-season.

McKennie: Give everything, leave nothing out on the pitch

The USA national says he can he live with not scoring as many goals himself as long as the team are firing and therefore getting the three points, as they have done seven times already this season. The reward for their performances is third in the table. “It feels good to be so high up,” said McKennie, who wants to use the last three games before Christmas to rise to the top of the Bundesliga standings. “We’re giving everything we have. Just because we’re sitting in third, doesn’t mean we can slow down now,” said the Royal Blues’ all-rounder.

He’s not surprised that the team has been so successful this season either. “We prepare for each game so well, we train hard – the intensity is always so high,” revealed the 21-year-old, adding that: “There’s a reason we’re so high in the table, and next weekend we want to prove once again why we find ourselves in such a position.”

McKennie of course knows about the difficult challenge that lies ahead in Leverkusen. “They beat Bayern and they’re on good form,” said the midfielder, who is absolutely certain that the coaching team will prepare them properly for the upcoming challenge. But there’s another reason why McKennie thinks that the team can win any game, home or away: “Thankfully, we’ll have plenty of our incredible fans backing us too.”