Keaton Parks says the New York City squad are fully equipped and ready for Sunday’s Eastern Conference Final.
The Boys in Blue travel to Philadelphia Union on Sunday night, as the two sides lock horns for a place in the 2022 MLS Cup.
With so much at stake, Parks admits the pressure is on for the reigning Champions but asserts Nick Cushing’s side have no fear and are fully prepared for the task, with sights set on nothing but a win.
“We’re not going into it acting like we need to defend something, or protect something – we're going there to win another title. That's what we're doing out here,” the Midfielder stated.
“Of course, there's a little bit of pressure but it's the pressure that we put on ourselves and at least for me, I put it on myself every game. I always want to win, I always want to play my best so again that's what I'll do on Sunday: try to perform at the best of my ability.
“Philly have had a great run at home this year so we’re looking to play a good game and compete and hopefully, get the win. They're a good team. We’ve been looking at film this week, studying their formation, and what certain players like to do – like we do with any other team in the league.
“We’ve been studying and working on it and we’re ready, we’re prepared and we know exactly what we need to do to get it done.
“We just have to play our game. Focus a lot on offensive marking when we're attacking – make sure that no guys are free just in case we lose the ball or something like that – but we just have to play our game. It's two great football teams and it's going to be a good one.
“We have a lot of experience within this team and our run, and winning games last year away from home – we’ll definitely bring that experience into this game but again, it’s two good football teams.”
Having unfortunately missed our 2021 success through injury, Parks holds his own personal motivation to make an impact in the playoffs as the Boys in Blue chase back-to-back glory.
Now enjoying more regular minutes, he played a key role in our Semifinal victory in Montréal, replacing Maxime Chanot early on at Stade Saputo to help the backline, and says he feels in good shape with the team gelling nicely.
“I feel good,” he added. “Physically, mentally, everything’s good. I feel prepared for this game and we’re very motivated.
“We know exactly how this feels to win just from a year ago, so we’re definitely motivated, hungry for more.
“We have a good time, we have a lot of chemistry within the team and good friendships, good partnerships and we have a lot of fun out there. We scored goals and whoever is scoring the goal, we’re happy for him. We like to celebrate together.”
With Philadelphia looking to make home advantage count, the crowd can often play a part in such big game, intensifying the emotion of the occasion.
However, Parks insists the City players are not fazed by background noise and are approaching the game with a strong mentality.
“Surprisingly, it's pretty easy to block out the crowd once you're out there and focused on playing, running around with your teammates,” he said. “It's almost like they're not there.
“I forget often that in crowd, people are yelling, and whatever they're saying. It's like it's not actually happening so it's pretty easy to just tune them out and focus on the game.
“For me, it's a normal football game. Of course, it’s the Conference Finals but I would expect them to be amped up against any opponent.
“We're going to go out there and compete. They have very quality players, they have a lot of experience within their team and they're going to be ready, and we're going to be ready. I think we just have to treat it like a normal football game.
“We only have one more game and then if we win that, then we'll have another game but as of right now, we really have this one game and we have to win it, and so that's our focus.”
