Montreal Impact midfielder Victor Wanyama has disclosed he is not under any pressure ahead of Thursday’s Major League Soccer (MLS) fixture against New England Revolution.
The Harambee Stars skipper is in line to make his debut appearance in the American top-flight when Montreal Impact play their first competitive match since the suspension of football in the US and Canada due to the coronavirus.
They are among the 25 teams participating in the MLS is Back Tournament which is a one-off competition to mark the league’s return to action from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Ahead of Thursday’s outing in Florida, Wanyama who joined Thierry Henry’s side as a designated player from Tottenham Hotspur in March said he is going to the field to enjoy himself and help the team without any pressure.
“I’ve nothing to prove. I just want to try and help my team, try and give my best in every game I play and the rest we’ll see where we can be,” Wanyama was quoted as saying by the MLS website.
“I don’t have any pressure or anything. I just want to go out there and enjoy myself, play football, make sure I help my teammates and do my job.”
After several training sessions with his teammates at Montreal, the 29-year-old believes the team is quality and might require little time to adapt.
“I think we have a good young group, technically we have a lot of good players all over the pitch. It’s just a matter of time [before] we all click together and we can surprise many," the former Southampton midfielder said.
“With the quality we have and the plan the manager has for us, it’s just a matter of time that we master it very quickly and then we shock many.”
Before the suspension of sports in Canada due to the coronavirus, Wanyama made his Montreal Impact debut in their Concacaf Champions League loss to Olimpia on March 11.
He described the Covid-19 lockdown as a tough period for him and also described Henry’s presence in the backroom as a plus for the team.
“It was a really tough period for me, joining a new club and then everything just went wrong with the pandemic hitting the world,” he continued.
“It was a really tough period, but I had to look at the positive side which was staying safe.
“In football we cannot stop learning.
“We always learn and we have a young manager who had also a good career and is someone we can all learn from. That’s the advantage we have.”
