Former Aberdeen star Kenny McLean: “I need to get back playing as soon as possible to prove I’m good enough for English football”

KENNY MCLEAN is a man on a mission.

At the start of the year, the former St Mirren and Aberdeen midfielder got his big move to English football.

Yet while he signed on the dotted line of a lucrative contract with Norwich City, he remained at Pittodrie to see out the season with the Dons.

Everything was on the up, and there was even a trip to South and Central America with Scotland at the end of the campaign for the friendlies against Peru and Mexico.

No sooner was the new season up and running, however, than McLean’s rise hit the buffers.

An ankle injury suffered in a League Cup tie against Stevenage in August eventually led to surgery, and it’s only now that McLean is getting over the problem.

His goal now is too prove to the doubters that he actually is good enough for English football.

McLean told The Sunday Post: “I’ve had people from Scotland saying to me that they’ve been checking the Norwich City team list every weekend and seeing I’ve not been playing.

“Some people are under the impression that I’ve been bombed out, and not been good enough.

“That’s obviously annoying, because it’s not the case.

“I feel I am good enough to make an impact in England and can do well for my club.

“It’s just about getting back to full fitness and forcing my way into the team.

“I had a good pre-season and was in the first team.

“Then I picked up an ankle injury, and the initial diagnosis was that I’d be out for four weeks.

“But then I required an operation on it in October, so it took nearly 18 weeks, and that has been really frustrating.

“Thursday night in an Under-23 game against German club, Wolfsburg, was my first game back and I got 45 minutes under my belt.

“I hope to get at least an hour on Monday against Sunderland, and then be ready to push into the first-team squad.

“I’m just so keen to get back and involved.

“There is nothing worse when you move to a new club – and to a new league – and you don’t play.

“I just wanted to find a rhythm and felt I was on my way to doing that. And then the injury struck.”

In his absence, the Canaries have been flying high at the top of the Championship, and are on course for a lucrative return to the Premiership after a three-year absence.

Norwich City boss Daniel Farke is desperate to get McLean back to bolster his squad.

The German is well aware that there is still major hard work to be done from January onwards, and players such as McLean will have a key role.

McLean, who’ll be 27 next month, is confident that will be the case.

He said: “I’ve been to most of our games and it’s a great club, with a brilliant support.

“With us being up at the top of the league, Carrow Road has been absolutely buzzing, and the fact we have scored three or four very late goals to win points has just added to the drama and excitement.

“Teemu Pukki has scored a few goals for us, and he has been in superb form.

“Some people will remember him from his time in Scotland with Celtic.

“He’s been first-class for us, and I’m looking forward to playing with him on a regular basis.

“Longer term, it’s about building on the first half of the season and winning promotion to the Premier League.

“That’s what we all hope for and I want to play my part.”

For McLean, there is also the small matter of getting back into the Scotland squad.

He was delighted to see Alex McLeish and his players clinch a play-off spot for Euro 2020 after defeating Albania and Israel last month.

But the next round of qualifiers start in March, and McLean would love to see his country finish in the top two to avoid the nail-biting prospect of a play-off.

He hopes to be back to full fitness in time for the games against Belgium, Russia, Kazakhstan, Cyprus and San Marino.

And McLean stressed: “I’m a proud Scotsman, and really want to be involved.

“Obviously, I need to get back to playing regularly, and must cement a place in the Norwich team before I can think about anything else.

“But if I achieve that, then I have to have my sights set on getting into the national squad.

“I was involved in the tour of South America at the end of last season, and absolutely loved that. It was a brilliant experience.

“I have five caps but I want many, many more.

“The lads have been brilliant in the past few games and we need to build on the momentum.

“Yes, the games in the 2020 qualifiers will be tough, but it’s not an impossible task.

“There are many games we will be able to win, and it’s up to the players to prove we can do it.

“The next 11 months are vitally important and we have to do ourselves justice.

“We all know what’s at stake, and how long it’s been since we qualified for a major tournament.

“Can we be the first group of players in more than 20 years to pull it off? Yes, we can.

“We have confidence, belief and ability.”