Maxime Chanot and Tayvon Gray say the New York City squad are counting down the minutes to the 2023 MLS season opener.
The Boys in Blue kick off the new campaign with a trip to Tennessee to face Nashville SC in Saturday’s 4:30pm kick-off.
As the team finetune preparations for the clash, the pair say the excitement is building with the players refreshed and raring to go, and sights firmly set on silverware.
“We’re very excited for the beginning of the season,” Chanot declared. “We’ve been working really hard for six weeks. Everybody’s looking forward to starting again.
“We're well-prepared. It’s going to be a tough game. Nashville are not easy to play against, especially away in front of a full stadium, but we’re ready.
“We work hard, we work well, everybody is behind Nick [Cushing], everybody is happy to be in this Club, and excited to start finally after six weeks, for the first MLS game of the season.
“We work well, we work hard together, and we can’t wait to start the league now.”
Echoing Chanot’s sentiments, Gray spoke of the importance of starting the new campaign brightly.
The defender, who penned a new deal with the Club in November, has been highlighted as a senior figure in the City squad this season, eager to increase his minutes and occupy more of a leadership role.
Asked of his personal goals for 2023, he was not coy in his response, asserting: “Win everything!
“The first game of the season is good to set the tone, that’s what we’ll try to achieve. You could say that it’s motivation that we haven't beaten Nashville.
“As for me leading, I think I’ve done a pretty good job. My game really shows that. I like to encourage on the pitch: ‘Don’t be scared to be yourself, show your personality.’
“I think the young guys really catch on quick. I’m from the Academy so I know how it is – that transition can be tough, but you slide with it because the Academy does the same stuff as we do, they’ve been doing well.
“[Preseason has been] just preparing for the new season. I think we’re prepared, everyone’s healthy.”
In the build-up to Cushing’s first full season in charge, the preseason campaign has allowed the team to practice various tactical plays, in addition to building match fitness.
Both Chanot and Gray discussed their own adaptability with Cushing previously acknowledging the importance of flexibility across the board.
On the subject of the left center-back role, Chanot replied: “I can play in both positions, Thiago Martins can do too, Tony Alfaro can play there, Alfredo Morales also played a few games last season as a center-back on the left and the right...
“The coach Nick will make a choice. Right now, I can play both positions, so I will play where Nick wants me to play.”
Gray also hopes his own versatility will prove to be a useful trait, with the defender able to occupy central and wide roles across the backline.
“Most definitely, that’s how I look at it for sure,” he explained. “We’ve done both. We can play a four-back, but we can still go to three at the back - the left full-back can go high, and I can go center-back even though I'm playing right-back… It can also be because we're playing five at the back.
“There’s no second-guessing or switching – in my head and I hope Nick’s head, I can do all three so that’s hopefully a plus for me.”
With new additions to the backline, Chanot also spoke highly of goalkeeper Matt Freese and defender Braian Cufré, who he believes have bolstered the squad both on and off the pitch with impressive ability and strong camaraderie.
“We’re very happy to welcome Matt to the Club,” he continued. “We know him from Philadelphia [Union], he’s a quality player.
“It’s very important to have a bunch of good quality goalkeepers at the Club. That's what we have with him, Luis [Barraza], Cody [Mizell], [Alex] Rando. We are very lucky to have such very good goalkeepers in this Club.
“Matt has done very well during this preseason. He’s a little bit mad at me because he played against us two years ago when we won the Cup against Philadelphia, and the first goal came from my shot! But now everything is great with him and I’m very happy to have him at the Club.
“We have had the chance to meet Braian since last week. He’s been very welcomed into the Club. We’re very happy to have him with us, he’s a very good player.
“You can see from his background – when you’re from La Liga, you’re obviously a good player. He’s going to be very useful for us. We need depth in this team and we need quality, and we’re always happy to have this kind of player.
“We’re looking forward to seeing him play against Nashville, and obviously he's going to be successful this season for us.”
NYCFC will kick off the 2023 MLS season on Feb. 25 when we visit Nashville SC at GEODIS Park (4:30 pm ET).
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