Nick Cushing is happy to have a number of key players back in contention for selection against Orlando City tomorrow.
New York City FC have seen their squad depth tested in recent weeks with both injuries and suspensions depleting the roster. Speaking to the media on Friday afternoon, Cushing confirmed the return of five players has been a huge positive for the squad heading into Saturday’s game.
“It's definitely a challenge managing the roster when you have a lot of injuries,” Cushing said.
“You're trying to find a balance in the team to make sure you can go in and get a result. We play to win, so the idea of the team is to always go and attack the opposition and create as many chances as possible.
“It's been a challenge trying to find the balance in that. I'm really pleased that we’ve got a lot of guys back.
“Santiago Rodríguez, James Sands, Thiago Martins, Kevin O’Toole, and Tayvon Gray, to have those five players back with the group is a huge positive for the group.”
The game against Orlando represents City’s fourth and final consecutive road game.
The Boys in Blue have managed to pick up two points from three games so far, and reflecting on the state of the group as a whole, Cushing confirmed the mood is positive, with the hope being they can take all three points tomorrow.
“I think you always look at the schedule at the start of the season and you map out where you feel there's going to be an opportunity to maybe rotate and where there's an opportunity to really start racking points up,” he said.
“We saw that with our homestretch. You’re also looking at where you feel there’s going to be a really challenging period.
“This was it for us for sure. Four road games: Austin, Chicago, Atlanta, and Orlando. We knew it was going to take a toll on us, in terms of fatigue, and that it was going to be a challenge.
“Emotionally, the group is fine. The group is in a really good place but disappointed not to execute a result in Austin with a good performance.
“A tie on the road in Chicago, the game was even, but I think a real positive point on the road in Atlanta, where, we had a lot of challenges with the roster.
“We probably didn't start the game so well and we gave away goals but to come back and get a tie it felt like a win.
“I'm really hungry to finish this stretch with a positive result.”
