On the win over FC Dallas
I think the first half was really, really good. We played really good with the ball especially. We get an early goal in second half, and then we get a little bit passive. But we think we are still in control. Then of course, the last 20 minutes, they put up their press with a lot of long balls, and then they get one goal. Then it's always a little bit hectic, but everybody's working really hard and doing really good.
On the team's stature now compared to this point of the season last year
I think there's a lot of good things going on right now. The coach, he has done a really good job, all the coaches. You can see when we're trained here everybody is engaged and everybody is on same page. That's the most important, and everybody's willing to fight for each other. That's a big difference compared to last year, I think. And then like I said, we still have a lot of things to improve, especially with the ball, I think we can score even more goals. And of course, we also want to have more clean sheet.
On the communication between leaders in the back to guide the team
I think everybody is helping each other. Of course, we are behind the ball so we can see the whole pitch so we can help the guys more. But of course it's important to communicate and help each other. Also, you can see we're much more compact and the guys in front of us are doing a really good job. We have to keep going and that's what gets us a lot of points.
On the approach to back-to-back road games against unfamiliar opponents in FC Cincinnati and NYCFC
We we are going for three points, we are looking at ourselves, we have a lot of things to improve still. So the most important thing is to look at ourselves and and do the stuff we're doing right now because we're doing well, but it's far from what we have to do to keep doing even better.
On the energy after beating FC Dallas at home
As the head coach, I love that our players can bask in a victory and points. It validates how much work they do. We ask a lot of them physically, mentally, emotionally. So to see that, just watching them, the feeling that I know that they have, I also feel it to a certain degree. I love that for the group. It reinforces that we're onto something. And then for our fans––the amount of fans that thanked me on Saturday night––I mean, we're the ones that are grateful to our fans that come out on a cold night, supported the guys, making noise. So on a few levels, the wins are great, wins at home are great. I see the boys looking at the TV where we have the standings posted, and they see that we're climbing, so it's all good stuff.
On the injuries to Sam Vines and Jasper Löffelsend
For Sam with a concussion, he's actually feeling really good. He felt good after the game and the next morning. When these things come up one we're going to be very cautious and we go through the concussion protocol, so we're right on track with that. Sam's feeling pretty good. We'll some running this week and some some activity to see how the symptoms react, that's how it goes. We're hopeful for the weekend but we'll be prepared if not. Jasper played the other day, he got minutes with the second team, he was set for training today and we had him right on track in the same physical spot as a team, but he had some some flu-like symptoms today. Body aches, chills, things like this. We wanted to keep him home so he can get better quickly, keep him away from the group.
On balancing celebrating the team's accomplishments with keeping the work rate high
From day one around here the message that I preached and delivered, every single day that I've been here, is that everything we do will be based on hard work and that we will never get too low on ourselves. I referenced the Portland game, potentially a defining moment for us. And we don't get too high, the boys are realistic. It's what makes so many of them good, that they know we were really good the other night for a long stretch, but they know in those constructions we can be better. And we know when things get a little tough there's ways to get better. Myself and the coaching staff, we're a humble group, we're very realistic, we believe we know what we're looking at, so let me leave that game saying, "Let's ride the momentum of good energy and good spirit within the team, but then, how can we get right back to work?" We had some good video today, we had unit meetings today. We don't waste a day trying to get better. That part's not that hard and our group is hungry and looking to improve every day.
On the challenge of taking on two unfamiliar Eastern Conference teams back-to-back on the road
The next two games will be very different in themselves. You come across opponents you don't know as well from just the experience of our guys versus their guys. But same goes for them to us. We'll try to use it to our advantage and try to give them something different than what they normally see. If we're really honest, we're going to a tough place to play against a really good team. They've bolstered this squad, they've added some nice pieces, have the league MVP from last year. The structure is challenging with wing backs and three in the back, they're hard to break down. But we are excited for that challenge. We want to go there and be the aggressors and put them in a different game than they're used to. So we will continue in much of the same ways but understanding that how we can get hurt in that game. It'll be a fun challenge, but we will go there with an approach to get points.
