Tom Pearce
Q: Tom, you had a good first start at Saputo Stadium, but it was tougher last Saturday. What adjustments do you think you need to make now to get back to the level of the first match?
TP: As a team, after the after the game on Saturday, we were disappointed with the result. First and foremost, for the fans, who didn’t deserve to see that performance, so we’ll take all the blame for that. We’ve spoken since and had meetings to see where we need to be better and then on the training pitch, we’ve worked on it and hopefully we’ll see that Saturday.
Q: You may not know Cincinnati too much, but what have you learned about them in the last few days?
TP: They’re a good team and I think that shows in the league table. They’ve got good individual players, but we’ve also worked on areas where we can hurt them so hopefully it’ll be a good game and a positive result.
Q: A month and a half here in Montreal, what is the biggest difference between North American soccer and English soccer that you’ve seen?
TP: To be honest, there’s not a massive difference. The main thing for me is adjusting the heat, because in England the weather hasn’t been great. That’s probably the main thing but in terms of the standard of the football and the tempo, it’s pretty much similar.
Q: How is the confidence of the team? You have not been here the whole season, but it’s been a rough season, so how does it feel right now in training?
TP: Right now, it is good and ever since I’ve been here it’s only been good things. I’ll try and bring my confidence in and if other people are feeling low, I’ll try and help them on the pitch or likewise, if I was feeling low, they will try and help me. It’s a good group and a good squad and we all stick together as much as we can. It’s just about being positive and just keep looking up.
Mahala Opoku
Q: What do you think you need to do better to get more playing minutes?
MO: For me, it’s all about the coach’s decision about who’s playing and who’s not. I’m doing the training how I’m supposed to do it, but in the end it’s the coach who makes the decision. Whoever the coach feels are good to play, yeah man. Any minute I have, I must make good use of it.
Q: Is it tough to find rhythm when you play 25 minutes here and there?
MO: Well, if you’re a footballer any minute you get, you need to make good use of it. It doesn’t matter whether you get 20 minutes or 90 minutes, you must try to help the team any way you can.
Q: Last Saturday was a tough match for everyone, but this week in training how did you guys manage keep the mood light and positive?
MO: Last game was bad in terms of losing a huge game at home. It was a bad night. As for the training, we are trying we are doing our best to improve in certain things and certain places that we were not that good at that night. Training is going well and we’re training on how to position ourselves in terms of the defensive end.
Q: You started the season strong, and an injury slowed you down. Do you feel as physically and mentally fit as you were at the beginning of the season right now? Can you say you’re at 100% right now?
MO: In terms of physical or mentally? I don’t know how to answer this, but I’m back and I’m training with the team, so I’m ready for any minute or any time. So, I’m ready because mentally I feel good, but I feel a little bit of discomfort in certain places in my leg but in terms of physical and mentally, I’m good.
Laurent Courtois
Q: How is this week’s training shaping up for the players’ recovery and confidence after last Saturday’s game?
LC: It’s happened all too often this year but distinguish between the mistakes and the hesitations of the first half and with the second half we had guys who thought they were doing well and left discipline aside to try and get back into the game, and in fact that was the worst-case scenario we could have had. They must distinguish the two and keep what we think we were on the right track for a good part of the game.
Q: The game against Cincinnati at Stade Saputo this year was perhaps one of your best. The teams have changed since then and it’s a different context, but do you still use it as a template to show your players what you need to do against them?
LC: Yes, on the execution of the things we’re capable of doing when we are all on the same page and consistent. After that, as you said, so many things have happened in the meantime, so we’re looking more at the latest performances and current form and trends. They’re one of the most solid and competitive teams in the league. We really need to look at the things we want to erase on our side first, before thinking about doing this or doing that, so a little bit of all that together.
Q: We’ve just spoken to Mahala, what would you like to see more of from him to give him more minutes?
LC: Intensity, I’d like to see a little of the spark we started to see at the beginning of the season, just before his injury in Dallas. Intensity, change of pace and a bit of madness and realism too, because not only him, but we don’t often make the right choices in the final third. He showed some interesting things too, but it’s just that in continuity and in the team-block relationship, defensively, we need a little more intensity.
Q: Last Saturday night, Jean-François Teotonio asked you after the game if you felt in danger as head coach after a five-zero defeat at home. You told him you wanted to take a breather and wait a while before really giving an answer. Six days later, if Jean-François asks you the same question again, do you feel safe? Do you feel in danger? Has it changed?
LC: No, I said it at the time and it’s a bit presumptuous or a bit daring, but from the moment you want to ask the question, you want to write it down, that’s all, so there’s nothing to do. I just want to say that I know that at one point I said not at all, but as I said afterward, it’s soccer, and we never know. From all the people I’ve been talking to for several months now, I have certitudes about the project we hope to follow.
Q: Could you please tell us a little more about Dominik Yankov, who we see in training but not among the players called up for matches?
LC: Dominik lacks a little bit of consistency and intensity, but he’s been working well. He was sick and couldn’t train on an important day, but he’s working well and filling a little bit of the gap that we hope he’ll fill. He’s not far off all the others but we just want them to bring more drive and intensity to his runs and a little more certainty to his play and decisions between the lines and defensively, a little more continuity too. It’s the same thing you could say about a lot of players in the front three, but he’s also shown some very interesting things that we’d like to see, and we’d like to be able to add the rest.
Q: Only two wins this season on the road, the last one in March. There are some members of 1642 who are currently traveling to Ohio in their cars to support you. 1) Can this serve as extra motivation? and 2) Do you have anything to say to them to boost their confidence for this game?
LC: Well, for me it’s always an essential element, because we know that without our fans, there are many of us who won’t make a living from soccer, not just the players. The fans are the basis of everything, after all, as I’ve said many times, we’ve all been little boys and girls and who had our parents take us to the stadium when we were younger. We have a duty towards them, especially with the season we’ve had so far, and it’s not too late. We’ve shown some interesting things, but unfortunately without continuity, always in fits and starts. We’d like to get off to a good start in Cincy against a fine team, but we’ve got cards to play too. Let’s hope we’re all on the same page, because we haven’t given up and, on the contrary, we know we’re working and we’re going to give it our all.
Q: When you were in Columbus, did you follow hockey?
LC: A little, yes.
Q: Do you know who Johnny Gaudreau is, and did you see the news this morning? Does it put things in perspective when you see it happening in the sports world, which you know well?
LC: Yeah, it’s a catastrophic day. It goes in a context like this and it’s really damaging and sad and like you said, it puts a lot of things in perspective. It’s also linked to the fact that when you’re lucky enough to do what you do and be in good health, you bite into it without hesitation. It’s a very sad day for this family, and we’re trying to learn lessons and be respectful and understand that we’re privileged to be in good health and to be able to run after a ball.
Andy's Impact Zone 
Leave a comment