VANCOUVER, B.C. – Kenny Miller is ready to take the armband if Vancouver Whitecaps head coach Martin Rennie gives him the nod.
This follows the loss of skipper Jay DeMerit, who ruptured his Achilles tendon six minutes into last Saturday’s 1-0 win over Toronto FC. The 33-year-old center back is out long-term, likely for six to eight months.
While Rennie has opted to wait until Friday to discuss who his interim captain will be, Miller is likely the favorite for the role. He was given the armband when DeMerit had to make his early exit on Saturday, and captained the side in preseason when DeMerit was unavailable due to treatment for Achilles tendonitis.
“Of course I would,” Miller responded at the University of British Columbia when asked if he’d relish the role of captaining the side. “It was a privilege and an honor to captain the team in preseason and also when Jay went off.
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“Obviously we’re all disappointed and for Jay it’s a really bad injury for him and we him a speedy recovery. But in his absence if I was given the role I would be delighted.”
Just as Rennie did earlier this week, Miller talked up the club’s depth at center back, and spoke of the chance it gave to some of the side’s younger players.
“It’s going to be a massive loss,” Miller said of DeMerit’s injury. “But we’ve brought in big Brad [Rusin] this year, who’s done great this preseason. We’ve also got Johnny Leverón, who’s not quite with us yet, but we’ve got young [Carlyle Mitchell].
“It’s an opportunity. It’s an opportunity for someone to go in and nail down a place in that team in Jay’s absence.”
