It's always a show when Fanendo Adi is on the field for Futbol Club Cincinnati, but it's not always a long show.

That is to say Adi, who joined FC Cincinnati midseason as the club's first Major League Soccer designated player, isn't on the field much, if only in the eyes of some fans.

It's an observation, not a criticism. And it's mostly correct, albeit lacking context.

Here's where that sect of the FC Cincinnati fanbase is coming from: They're having a hard time reconciling that a player of Adi's hype and recent performances has five appearances since joining the club and just one start.

Well, here's the context: The story of how Adi's being used today has just as much to do with how the club hopes to use him next year as anything else.

In a post-training interview Tuesday, Cincinnati head coach Alan Koch pulled back the curtain on the club's philosophy for playing Adi.

"Adi coming and joining us isn't just a simple acquisition," Koch said. "He's a long-term investment for us, obviously, and he's someone we know we can use in the short term. We know we can get a lot out of him in the short term just like we did on Saturday night... He's an investment for us. We take care of every single one of our players, but obviously, we have to manage him.

"We have to manage his workload. We have to manage his minutes. We have to manage him playing on turf. We have to manage his travel and get him up to the level we need him to be at."

More:Fanendo Adi scores, FC Cincinnati clinches USL Cup playoff berth in comeback win over Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC

Since arriving in Cincinnati, Adi's played a combined 129 minutes over the five appearances.

On average, Adi enters matches about the 75th minute.

The one start was Aug. 25 against the Tampa Bay Rowdies, and Adi didn't dress for the midweek match against Atlanta United 2 on Aug. 22 that preceded his debut start for the club.

On Saturday, Adi came on late as a substitute. In 15-plus minutes, he had two clear-cut scoring chances and deposited one of them into the net to help FC Cincinnati beat Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC, 2-1.

Following a reduction in playing time at the end of Adi's stay in Portland – he started just once, was an unused substitute four times and played a combined 102 minutes in the seven matches preceding his move to Cincinnati – Koch and his staff are simply trying to preserve a valuable asset.

"In the short term, we're going to squeeze everything out of him just like we do with every player," Koch said. "But we're also very cognizant (that) he's a part of our long-term plans for next year and moving forward."

OTHER FUSSBALL CLUB NEWS -

• Cincinnati captain Dekel Keinan was named on Tuesday to the USL's Team of the Week. He scored a goal Saturday against Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC. The award is his second Team of the Week honor this season.