New York City FC head coach Pascal Jansen is focused on consistency as his team prepares for a tough road test against Columbus Crew.
City has built momentum with back-to-back home wins against Orlando and New England and now turn their attention to securing a first road victory of the 2025 season. Speaking to the media on Thursday, Jansen emphasized that maintaining a steady level of performance will be key to the team’s progress.
“Creating more consistency throughout games is a topic we've addressed from the start,” he said. “In order to be consistent, we've created a program where we build our confidence, develop our play style, and get our physical fitness to a higher level.
“Over the past few weeks and months, you’ve seen them grow, and it’s always good to see that consistency transfer to the pitch on a Saturday night.”
Jansen acknowledged the challenges of playing away from home but stressed that the team must approach every match with the same winning mentality.
“One of the things we talked about at the beginning of the season was being more consistent, especially in away games,” he added. “There’s a big challenge ahead for us. We did an okay job in the previous two road games. Against Inter Miami, unfortunately, we dropped two points where we should have done better.
“Against LA, it should have been a draw, but one moment of switching off cost us. That’s how tough MLS can be.
“Going into Columbus, the challenge remains the same, but we approach every game—home or away—with the same attitude: trying to win. We want to dictate games and make sure we get the results we’re looking for.”
Jansen will have to navigate Saturday’s clash without star forward Alonso Martínez, who has been called up for international duty with Costa Rica. While recognizing his absence as a loss, Jansen framed it as an opportunity for others to step up.
“Yeah, unfortunately, Alonso has been called up for national duty, but that's also a privilege to be there,” he said. “We just have to deal with the fact that he's not with us. Mounsef Bakrar has been working really hard from day one to get his chances at number nine.
“It’s not an easy battle competing with Alonso, so this is his opportunity to show where he’s at. We have all the confidence in him to be a good striker up front. His profile is just a little bit different from Alonso’s, but playing-wise, we won’t adjust anything. It’s just about making sure we understand his qualities in order to be successful.”
Columbus enters the match unbeaten, having secured two wins and two draws in their opening four games. Jansen expects a high-intensity battle at Lower.com Field and welcomes the challenge of facing a strong opponent.
“It’s going to be a very interesting challenge to see if we can match each other's intensity,” he said. “I’ve watched all of Columbus’ games so far, and they’re a very impressive team with good players and a strong play style. The intensity is something I’m looking forward to.
“We’ve brought our own intensity to a certain level and are still trying to raise the bar, but playing against a team like Columbus is a great test.”
