Kenny Miller insists the depth of the Vancouver Whitecaps squad has the Canadian club in a very strong position early in the 2014 MLS season.
The Whitecaps defeated New York Red Bulls 4-1 on Saturday in the opening weekend of the new campaign with a number of regulars from last season sitting on the bench.
The likes of Gershon Koffie, Kekuta Manneh and Johnny Leveron played eight minutes between them at BC Place (only Manneh made the pitch) as new head coach Carl Robinson used his new South American contingent against the Red Bulls.
It worked wonders as Sebastian Fernandez and Pedro Morales were both on the scoresheet while Nicolas Mezquida also debuted prompting two-goal hero Miller to highlight the healthy competition within the playing group.
"What it does is, it keeps the people who've got their (starting) shirt on their toes," Miller said after the match.
"You can't take anything for granted. You have to go out and keep performing, and not just in games but in the training. You have to train the way you play, and if you slack off a little bit, there's guys there on the subs bench and in the stands that are waiting to take your jersey.
"It's great. It's healthy for the guys and I'm sure the boss will love it, even though it will give him headaches throughout the season."
