Midfielder Neil Kilkenny has outlined his determination to bring silverware to Melbourne City during his maiden domestic campaign in Australia.
The 30-year-old joined City after a making over 300 appearances during a successful 12-year spell in English football, adding creativity to the Club’s midfield stocks alongside fellow new boy Luke Brattan.
After experiencing his first taste of competitive action in the Club’s 2-1 win over Brisbane Strikers in the Westfield FFA Cup, Kilkenny believes the overall strength of the playing squad leaves the Club in a perfect position to go one step further this season.
“We know the Club wants to go places,” he said. “We’re looking to bring in quality signings and I feel this season we’ve done that. Keeping Bruno as well, it’s a massive coup for the Club with his record-breaking season.”
“We’re all looking forward to pushing the Club to places it hasn’t been before. We all want to do that, we’re all very ambitious as players and as a Club as well, to prove how we good we are and hopefully go and win the league.”
Kilkenny acknowledged it was the right time to move to Australia and is looking forward to experiencing the challenge of playing in the Hyundai A-League.
“I’ve been keeping an eye on it since it started. I just wanted a change. Playing in England for so long, the English game is quite physical so I wanted to try something new. With the A-League and the backing Melbourne City have, I’m just looking forward to it.”
“I’ve been abroad for so long now and I haven’t really experienced the A-League. I’ve always wanted to experience it and I thought it was right now with the ambition of Melbourne City. It’s a massive club and hopefully we’ll be pushing for the league this season.”
Kilkenny believes the Club’s ambitions for silverware this season will hinge on a collective effort from the entire playing squad, rather than a reliance on key individuals.
“When a team wants to be successful it’s not about 11, it’s about 18-20 players. Everyone is trying to push in the right direction and push each other to the max. If we can do that in training then it will be good for whenever our competitive games are in the league. We’re all looking forward to it.
“Good players play with a lot of pressure, you have to play with pressure all the time. We have to deal with that situation and hopefully we can do that. Hopefully we can gel as a team and get our good players into the team and go on and be successful together.”
