With the final 10 games of the MLS regular season beginning on Saturday at Yankee Stadium, Head Coach Pascal Jansen has reiterated his team’s unwavering mentality.
New York City FC will take on Nashville SC on Sunday afternoon at Yankee Stadium, aiming to maintain their recent good run in MLS. The two sides are no strangers — their previous meeting this season ended in a 2-2 draw, with Jansen viewing both teams as having attacking intent from the outset.
“I only have the experience of one game playing against them,” Jansen said. “When we did our review, going into this game and looking back at the game we played in Nashville, there were some interesting things there because I think there were two teams on the pitch with an attacking philosophy, going at it at a very good level. The first half of that game was for Nashville, and the second half was for us.
"So we hope to build on that second half, of course. If you look at that game specifically, it was two attacking teams with some good players and a good philosophy. I’m looking forward to having our first win at home against Nashville because, like I said earlier on, for us, it’s one of those 10 games to get us into the position we want to be — and that is in the playoffs.”
Consistency and a winning mindset remain essential as New York City push for a playoff spot.
“No different to the mentality that we try to bring into the dressing room or add to the dressing room from game number one or from day number one, even. That’s making sure you have the winning mentality always, whatever game you play and whenever you play. Now it’s going to be the final stretch of 10 games to get what we are chasing from day one. We know what’s at stake, and we know what it takes. We know what we’re good at and what we are less good at, and that’s something you have to be aware of going into this final stretch in order to have the biggest chance of getting the results that are needed to get yourselves into the playoffs.”
Jansen also underlined the importance of playing at home in a league where travel can be demanding.
“Well, the home advantage is something that is part of MLS that I’ve gotten to learn about myself this season,” he said. “So the home advantage is there. Of course, we don’t have to travel. We play in our own stadium with our own fans supporting us going into this final 10-game stretch of the season. Playing a good team like Nashville helps as well, because over the season, playing the top teams has brought out the best in us. However, that also points out the other part — where we played teams that were lower-seeded than us, and we dropped points — so the consistency part is still up for discussion.
"Since we played Nashville away, we’ve had some good results, but also some results that are unexplainable and still affect our process in becoming more consistent throughout the season. Hopefully we can manage to be very consistent throughout the last 10 games of the season, and then it will give us what we’re looking for.”
Finally, Jansen offered an update on new signing Raúl Gustavo’s arrival and what he brings to the squad. The defender was signed from Hungarian side Ferencvaros, where he first worked with Jansen.
“I hope as soon as possible,” Jansen said when asked when we can expect to see the Brazilian on the field. “Paperwork is being dealt with. We’ll have to see once he’s in New York what kind of state he is in. In the previous period, he’s been in Manchester training and making sure he stays healthy.”
