‘You can guarantee I’ll be shattered after a Hong Kong game’: toil trumps trickery for hardworking Jaimes McKee

It didn’t take long for Hong Kong football fans to miss Eastern star Jaimes McKee over the local league off-season; his unmistakable blonde locks whizzing up and down the wing became a familiar sight at Mong Kok Stadium.

“Skill-wise, I doubt myself sometimes, but what I always bring is hard work. You can guarantee that I’ll be absolutely shattered after a Hong Kong game – I can’t move after them,” says the 30-year-old.

When he’s not galloping around the pitch, you will likely find McKee on a golf course. Or on a tennis court. Or a cricket field. Or a ski slope.

“I’ve always felt my hand-eye coordination is better than my foot-eye,” he says. “It’s funny how I gradually got into football. The transition to being comfortable using my feet was a bit difficult, but you pick up different skills from different sports.”

To say that sport runs in the family is an understatement. His mother captained the Hong Kong ladies’ golf team; his grandfather was a professional footballer for English team Birmingham City; his uncle is an active professional golfer ... not to mention his tennis-mad father and sister.