New York City FC Head Coach Pascal Jansen is emphasizing accountability, control, and mental resilience as key ingredients for long-term success.
Speaking to the media in the build-up to Saturday’s clash with the Philadelphia Union at Citi Field, Jansen addressed several important topics while also praising the role of the team’s supporters in motivating the squad.
“We are one with the fans, and they are one with us,” Jansen said.
“On the other hand, we’ve said to each other from day one—it doesn't matter what type of circumstances we have to play in, we have to perform in any type of game, fans or no fans.
“The context was there on Sunday [against Minnesota United], but it doesn’t give us any excuse to start the game like we did. That is something we have to take into account and make sure it doesn’t happen again—whether there’s one fan or 10,000 fans in the stands.”
City is looking to bounce back from consecutive defeats in MLS against Atlanta United and Minnesota United. Prior to that, Jansen’s side was unbeaten in three, and the head coach is challenging his players to produce greater consistency across 90 minutes.
“A huge part is that we’re trying to control every game,” he explained. “The Minnesota game was a different type of challenge, because that opponent doesn’t really need the ball. They don’t want to have it as much as you’d expect. That played a big part in why we had so much control. But, like I told your colleague just now, there were a few big moments where we needed to open up the game in order to get back into it.
“Conceding the way we did doesn’t help—it puts them in a good spot. So for us, it’s still a challenge to not only maintain possession and control games, but also to create bigger and better chances from that control.”
Eager to highlight the team’s positive work as well, Jansen pointed to the brighter moments in previous games as a roadmap toward greater success. He had previously challenged his side to adopt a ‘bulletproof mindset’—something he feels the group is still working toward on a consistent basis.
“We’ve shown over the seven games that we have phases where we have the right mindset and the right body language on the pitch—and in how we play,” he said.
“However, if you take the last 30 minutes in Atlanta, we’re not bulletproof enough to deal with that kind of situation. And the previous game shows we were not always capable of showing the right mentality early on. If we were, we wouldn’t have conceded the goals we did in the first 20 to 25 minutes.”
“There’s still a lot of room to grow in this area,” he added. “And that’s what we’re focusing on.”
