

Posted by

Steve Bottjer ,

May 13, 2014 Email

Steve Bottjer

On Twitter:

@BottjerRNO

One man’s loss is another man’s gain is how the saying goes.



In the case of Vanouver Whitecaps forward Kekuta Manneh, one experienced striker’s departure is an opportunity for a young player on the rise.



With the Whitecaps and veteran striker Kenny Miller parting ways last week, the talented 19 year old attacker is not shy to admit that he is even more focused on solidifying his spot in Carl Robinson’s starting eleven.



“I think it is an opportunity for me, but definitely not just for me,” Manneh told RedNation. “It is an opportunity for all of the young players and it is just about who will have the will to grab the opportunity. We all want to take the chance we have and I definitely want to be the guy to take that opportunity to be a starting player and an important player on the team. Hopefully it will mean more minutes for me.”



While many Whitecaps supporters and his now former teammates were probably sad to see Miller go, his departure does open up an enticing possibility in the form of a Vancouver frontline lead by prodigiously talented young speedsters Manneh and Darren Mattocks.



“Darren and I played together quite a bit last season in league matches and reserve league games and we connected pretty well, so I think we just need a little more time playing together,” Manneh said. “I think we have similar qualities and we can complement each other very well. I think we could definitely have a very good striker partnership.”



Regardless of which players he links with up top, after an impressive rookie season last year in which he scored six goals in twenty appearances, the fourth overall pick in the 2013 MLS SuperDraft is definitely looking to take his game and his career to another level.



“It was definitely important to get the first season out of the way,” Manneh explained. “It’s a lot of pressure. As a rookie coming in, you think you will play a lot and then you get disappointed and sometimes it can mess with your head. I thought I had a decent season last year and this year I am trying to build upon that one. Coming in this year, it has been a lot easier, having the help of the technical staff and the other players.”



Manneh was quick to admit that his comfort level in his second MLS season has been bolstered by the fact that Vancouver ultimately decided to promote former assistant coach Carl Robinson to Head Coach following the departure of Martin Rennie.



In Manneh’s estimation, the comfort level that he and the other young players on the Whitecaps squad already had with their new head coach made the transition to a new gaffer much easier.



“Last year Carl would pull us out after practice to do some extra training every day after practice,” the Bakau, Gambia native explained. “He has been a really good mentor for a lot of the young players, especially for me and the other guys who have been coming up. I like playing for him. He is a great coach who gives us the right information. Everybody respects him as a coach and we all like him.”



According to the player, the ascension of Robinson wasn’t the only positive development over the offseason, as he was quick to admit that he has been buoyed the club’s acquisition of a number of talented, creative and exciting midfielders.



“We have a lot of great midfielders on the team – Pedro, Russell, Koffie, Laba – and they are all great passers of the ball,” Manneh added. “I think we are going to have a really exciting season this year. I think I will have a lot of scoring chances because we have really good passers of the ball.”



Ultimately, with the opportunity there for him to excel this season in an environment in which Robinson and the Whitecaps brass have shown a lot of confidence in the young talent on the roster, Manneh is looking to achieve significant things both individually and with respect to team goals.



“I want to score more goals than I did last year and I want to be a big part of the team,” Manneh said. “I want to be a good team player and a regular player. I also want to win Canadian Championship trophy for the club and the fans, as I know how much it would mean to everybody in Vancouver. It would be really good to win that and put it in the bank and then hopefully make the MLS Playoffs this year.”