Rapids center back Jared Watts on Wednesday gave a glowing review of coach Pablo Mastroeni’s work in leading Colorado to the Western Conference finals this season and says he thinks Mastroeni will be back at the helm next year.

Mastroeni, who finished second in MLS coach of the year voting, is out of contract at the end of the year. Rapids president Tim Hinchey said last month he wants Mastroeni back and planned to address it after the season.

“I don’t know exactly what the contract situation is, but I would obviously, and I’m sure a ton of the guys, would love to have him back,” Watts said in a phone interview. “And I think that’s going to happen, I think it’s just a matter of time and he should be rewarded because I don’t think he gets enough credit. He did such a great job. He’s a great coach to play for, he’s easy to play for and he makes you get better and he makes you want to play for him.”

Colorado, which finished with the second-best record in MLS this year, was eliminated from the MLS Cup Playoffs in a 1-0 home loss to Seattle Sounders FC on Nov. 27. Ten days later, Watts said the loss still stings.

“I don’t think anyone’s over it quite yet,” Watts said. “Honestly, it’s hard for me personally to keep watching the playoffs go on and see these other teams make it. And the final’s coming up on Saturday. Honestly, I don’t know if I’m gonna watch it yet. You still kind of have that sour taste in your mouth and it’s hard to watch because you want to be there and you worked so hard to be there and felt like you’ve come up short. It’s kind of tough to swallow.”

Immediately following Saturday’s MLS Cup Final, the league will open a half-day trade window on Sunday, followed by Tuesday’s expansion draft. Expansion teams Minnesota United and Atlanta United will be allowed to select five players from existing rosters, down from 10 each in seasons past. Each MLS team can protect 11 players (plus homegrown and Generation Adidas players) and can only lose one player at most. Related Articles September 23, 2020 19-year-old Cole Bassett, Jonathan Lewis help Rapids beat Earthquakes 5-0

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Watts did not reveal whether he’d been placed on the protected list.

“I think the staff is still meeting with some people and some of those things are still going on,” Watts said. “I don’t want to see anybody leave the team. I wish they could protect everyone, but that’s the thing you gotta handle when you’ve got success.”