New York City Football Club Head Coach Ronny Deila is not concerned about fixture congestion after his side advanced to the next phase of Concacaf Champions League.
The Boys in Blue recorded a 4-0 victory against Costa Rican side Santos de Guápiles on Wednesday afternoon – earning them a 6-0 win on aggregate – to advance to the next round of the Champions League.
NYCFC will be back in action on Sunday during their MLS regular season opener against LA Galaxy. When asked if the number of games his team may play concerns him Deila replied, “We love to play games, so it's no problem.
“Last year, we played a game every three days and we are used to it. Now actually, it is boring to train so much so we just keep on playing. We want to win. If we get to win the Champions League, we will have a lot of games this spring and there's nothing better than that. We are prepared, we are fit, we have good consistency in the team in the staff. We just want to continue. It's got to be tough game to play on Sunday.”
Deila also took time to praise teenage forward Talles Magno after his Player Of The Match performance. The Brazilian was an influential figure in the final third for NYCFC on Wednesday and finished the game with a well-taken brace to open his account for the season.
“He’s a talented boy, everybody knows that,” Deila said. “It takes some time to adapt to a new team and style of play. I feel he’s ready to be a big part of the team this season. I think him and Thiago [Andrade] were really good today. They are starting to understand how we want it and then you can add the quality on the ball.
“One of the things we have talked about when he comes in is that he has to be more dangerous in front of goal. He had more chances today, he had five chances and scored two. He also had two big chances down in Costa Rica. He just needs to keep on working with his finishing and getting into position and we will have a top player.”
