Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
McPake in Austin to run rule over American kids
well. It’s great for them to have the affiliation but it’s also great for the club to be able to spread the name of Dundee.
“You see Celtic and Man U shirts all over so it’s good to see some Dundee ones as well.”
McPake accepts this week will be a challenge for him to test his skills as a young coach – particularly his communication skills.
“You couldn’t say football, or soccer as they call it, is the biggest sport out here but it is really growing,” he said.
“The MLS is getting bigger all the time and the national team has been quite successful, though they’re not at the World Cup this year.
“The kids who are starting to choose football as their sport really take it seriously and they are desperate to learn.
“I’m really looking forward to it. It is a challenge for me to get the kids to understand what I’m trying to tell them.
“It’s the same language – though I struggle to speak English sometimes! – but there’s a lot of different words and sayings.
“It will be a wee test for me to get my point across and then see how the players react. I’ll be out of my comfort zone and that’ll be a challenge.
“Last year, we went and watched some of the age groups in training and I was really impressed with the standard of players.
“As a coach, its great to work with kids like this because they are so keen to learn.”