KENNY’S CHARITY DRIVE
Kenny and Norwich pals hand a chunk of pay to those suffering
KIND-HEARTED Kenny McLean and his Norwich team-mates will donate more than £200,000 to help those devastated by the coronavirus crisis.
City stars, along with manager Daniel Farke, have decided to give a percentage of their salaries this month to charities, good causes and people left in need.
The move was the brainchild of Carrow Road captain and McLean’s fellow Scotland international, Grant Hanley. And it immediately got the backing of his dressing room.
The pot from the Premier League club has been topped up by directors and members of their executive committee.
McLean said: “We just thought it was important to give to people who are in need just now. We, as footballers, are in a fortunate position in terms of finance.
“As soon as Grant put the suggestion up on WhatsApp there was no hesitation from the boys to make it happen.
“We immediately agreed to give up a percentage of our wage from this month. It is a decent amount and hopefully it will help people who are in need and will go a long way to help people in this difficult time. It is just a small thing from us but hopefully it will prove to be a big thing to people who are in a situation just now because of the coronavirus.
“It is tough for a lot of people. People are out of work, have lost jobs and you don’t want to see that in any walk of life.
“Hopefully for now that will help a lot of people. We will always be there to help people, as a club, where we can.”
McLean has been doing his bit to help local charities in East Anglia while staying at home.
Heknowsthe lockdown and financial meltdown could go on for some time yet. Quite possibly he and his teammates may need to play their part again in a few months.
The 28-yearold midfielder said: “Whatever we could do to help we are happy to do. If we need to help again further down the line then I am sure we will do that because we want to help as much as we can.
“We will see how long it goes on for and I am sure that everybody at the club will come together again if we have to.
“I recorded a short message for a charity earlier this week. The charity provides accommodation and food to people in the local area.
“When I heard what the charity does, it really hit home.
“I know how fortunate I am because there are people who are absolutely desperate or have nothing.”
This should have been a defining spell for McLean. Scotland could have been running out in a Euro 2020 play-off final four days ago with a chance to end 22 years of hurt on the big stage. And Norwich were scrapping to stay in the top flight with six points separating them from safety. Instead, like much of the world, he has been confined to the house by the pandemic as Premier League chiefs yesterday declared it will not resume at the start of next month.
The ex-Aberdeen and St Mirren stalwart said: “It will be a while before we will be back playing.
“Football takes a back seat just now but you need to keep doing the right things to keep yourself fit and as ready as you can. Once this passes then we can start to look towards football again.
“But when we do get back I will never take another day’s training for granted again.
“We have been given programmes to work on and they are changed accordingly.
“I have bought a treadmill for the house and I have weights. We also have our heart monitors, which transfers our readings to the medical team so there is no hiding place.”
It may be a trying time but the one silver lining for McLean and girlfriend Brogan is more time with their five-month-old daughter Marcy.
He said: “She takes most of our time up, which has been good.
“I get to see her grow up when if I was playing I would be away a lot with games and training. I can spend more time with my family and that is one of the few good things to come out of this current situation.”
As soon as Grant put suggestion up there was no hesitation
KENNY McLEAN ON ACT OF GENEROSITY