New York City FC head coach Pascal Jansen has encouraged his team to find consistency ahead of their midweek clash with D.C. United.
City suffered a disappointing defeat in their last outing against CF Montréal but had recorded back-to-back league wins prior to Saturday. Among those two positive results was a 1-0 win against FC Cincinnati.
Speaking to the media on Monday, Jansen remained focused on the bigger picture, pointing to that performance against Cincinnati as a clear marker of what the team can produce.
“We know what we are capable of,” Jansen said. “The game against Cincinnati is one out of 12 that we've played so far, and we did reach a decent to good level in that game. But you have to realize that you've put a very high standard for yourself in that match, and anything less will make you more vulnerable.”
Asked whether that inconsistency was a group issue or limited to individuals, Jansen replied:
“It’s a combination of both. Against Cincinnati, that was a good team performance with a few individuals who stood out. But in the game against Montréal, the team level was average or below average, and you saw a few individuals not reaching their level. So, the inconsistency fluctuates between those two aspects.”
Wednesday’s match in D.C. is the second of three games in a week for City. Asked whether that may alter the team’s approach, Jansen confirmed that preparation remains consistent, with the expectation the same.
“We do play a lot of matches in a short period of time,” he said. “But our approach will not be any different, because we want to get the strongest squad out there on the pitch. That will not change.”
Jansen also spoke about the importance of the team’s mindset, cautioning against complacency when facing teams below City in the standings.
“We must avoid having the arrogance to say that they [D.C. United] are below us,” Jansen warned. “Even if Montréal was below us in the table, we cannot have this arrogance in our approach. The moment we start to think we are really good, we can also be very, very vulnerable.”
A key area of concern remains NYCFC’s offensive output. While the team showed flashes of attacking quality in recent games, Jansen noted that clinical finishing and fast, decisive forward play are still missing pieces.
“Our attacking threat and outcome in the offensive part of the game are still things that need to be addressed,” he said. “Because against Montréal, that wasn’t at our normal level.”
