Head Coach Patrick Vieira will approach the first MLS derby of the season as if it were any other game.
The Frenchman knows how important the game is for local pride but he will urge his players to stick to their usual gameplan in order to win at Red Bull Arena for the first time.
NYCFC have lost on every occasion they’ve taken to the field in New Jersey but Vieira is optimistic that his team can change that fact this weekend.
Vieira told NYCFC.com: “It’s an important game for the team, for the football club and for the fans. It’s a derby and it’s always nice to win them.
“I think when you play seven and lose six, it’s painful. There’s no doubt about it. This is something I’m not happy about and not satisfied about and we have to start turning it around.
“We know what to expect, we know they are a tough team to play against, especially with the way we want to play but we’ll stick to our principles.
“We’ll try to find a way to stick to our philosophy and try to win the game.”
All of the clichés surrounding soccer derbies indicate that passion and fight are the two most important traits to demonstrate in order to get the three points.
Vieira believes it will be important to best Red Bulls’ work rate which would allow the quality of his players to show as a result.
“I’m really looking forward to it because when you look at the last game we played, we lost 1-0 in the cup and you look at the first half and I think there are some positive aspects we can take, Vieira reflected.
“Of course it will be a hard one but it will be a hard one for them as well. It will be very important for us to stick to our gameplan, to respect what we’ve been working at throughout the week but in these types of games, it’s important for us to roll our sleeves up and to compete – to fight.
“We must match their competitiveness, we have to work harder than them and then we’ll give ourselves more chance of winning the game.”
Vieira and his Red Bulls’ counterpart Jesse Marsch have clashed in the past but NYCFC’s Head Coach has nothing but good things to say about the man who’ll be on the opposite bench on Saturday.
Vieira added: “I have a massive respect for Jesse for what he’s doing with the Red Bulls.
“I think he’s been doing a fantastic job since he got the job. That’s it. After, of course, there is the tension because both of us want to win games, but I have big respect for him.”
