South Africa photo gallery: day 5

Senior assistant coach Guy McKenna is excited about his new role as midfield coach for season 2008.

McKenna, who is about to enter his fifth season as a member of the Collingwood coaching panel, spoke to collingwoodfc.com.au at the conclusion of the first week of the club's two-and-a-half week high-altitude training camp in South Africa.

Having previously served as assistant coach in 2004 and 2005, McKenna was elevated to Malthouse's senior assistant for the 2006 season, with his main responsibility the opposition.

While McKenna will remain Malthouse's right-hand man, his role has changed for 2008… he will now look after the Collingwood midfield, with Brad Scott taking over the opposition.

"I wouldn't say it's more responsibility but it's more hands-on responsibility," McKenna said.

"Opposition coach is about giving Mick (Malthouse) the cryptic crossword of the opposition, mind you having some answers for him as well, but letting him come up with some of that, that's what he enjoys.

"So you have a global look of opposition sides, and a global look of our side, how best we're going to match up against the opposition, that's the way I took on the role.

"Now as midfield coach, it's more hands on in the nitty gritty, and from a stoppage and midfield point of view, certainly the engine room of the side."

With his previous role primarily focused on analysing and understanding the opposition, McKenna has particularly enjoyed his increased direct involvement with the players during the pre-season so far.

"It's really good to get back into the one-on-one coaching of the players, teaching them the technical skills of stoppage work.

"But ultimately coaching is coaching, no matter what area you're looking after, it's about getting the best out of the players in their roles, and making them the best midfielders they can be, so from that point of view it's been really good and really challenging."

"It's been really good working with the likes of Scott Burns, Shane O'Bree, Josh Fraser, and certainly some of the younger kids coming through, like Dane Swan, Scott Pendlebury and Dale Thomas even… it's really exciting."

McKenna went on to discuss the way the players have handled their first week in South Africa, with the camp very different to those conducted in Flagstaff, Arizona in November of 2005 and 2006.

"There was always a question mark as to how this type of camp was going to go at this time of year.

"The Arizona camps were good because they were higher altitude and second week of pre-season, so you can belt the boys behind the ears. There wasn't a lot of football work, it was more physical, right up there in terms of the training and the loading.

"This time of the year it's a bit different because we're moving into our first game, so it's a shorter, slower kind of camp, because we're mindful of preparing the boys to play.

"Different location, different venue, I think the change has been good, not a lot to do when the tools are put down, but the boys have been fantastic, and that's where the bonding kicks in, because there's not a lot to do, you've got to entertain yourself and your team mates.

"There's a fair bit of card playing board games, the computers are out, and just generally wandering around, but they're doing it in groups, which is fantastic."

One of the main objectives of the camp is to have the players fully prepared for the the first pre-season cup match, to take place in Dubai against Adelaide on February 9, as well as round one of the AFL Premiership Season, against Fremantle at the MCG on March 22.