FC Cincinnati: Players, interim head coach Yoann Damet react to Ron Jans departure

BRADENTON, Florida – The most important progress happening around FC Cincinnati right now might not be on the training ground.

More than likely, progress is coming during solitary moments in IMG Academy’s Legacy Hotel rooms where the players are lodged through Friday afternoon.

Perhaps progress is being achieved in private chats over coffee. Or it’s happening poolside at the hotel as players lounge quietly.

For everyone involved with the soccer operations of FCC, progress looks more like reflecting on the club’s current circumstances than soccer drills on a field as the organization grapples with its post-Ron Jans reality.

Following a Major League Soccer Players Association complaint and subsequent Major League Soccer investigation into Jans’ use of racial slurs, Jans was officially out of the FC Cincinnati head coaching job as of Tuesday.

The result of Jans’ departure caused a coaching-staff shakeup, and wide-ranging reactions from players and staff alike.

"Weird, of course. I think for everyone, it's a strange situation," FCC center back Maikel van der Werff said. "We had meetings and, yeah, it was the conversation of the day, of course."

The complaint against Jans was initiated by players but not all of the coach's relationships in the locker room were damaged by his actions.

Consequently, some individuals are at different stages in coping with the new reality, interim head coach Yoann Damet told The Enquirer, and more time will be needed.

“I think it’s been difficult for everyone. Like I said to the players (Tuesday), everybody needs a bit of time to process it in his own way. So, we have to respect that,” Damet said. “Some of the guys, and I include the staff, will turn the page quicker and some of them will need a bit more time to process it, to digest it. We have to respect it.”

Some of the talk about the current state of the FC Cincinnati locker room is that the group could be susceptible to dividing or splintering.

There aren't any illusions about the complexity of the situation, but Damet and multiple players indicated Wednesday the issue can and should be overcome.

“I think it’s been super unfortunate for everyone involved. I think that Ron is generally a good person and I think that, you know, he made, certainly, (a) mistake,” goalkeeper Spencer Richey said. “I wasn’t there for any of the alleged – you know, what happened the other week or some of the other things… It’s been a bummer for everyone no matter what side you’re on.

"If you’re in the staff, a player, this kind of thing effects everyone, and obviously the timing is not great either, so it’ll take some time for everyone no matter how close you were to the situation or if you were even further away, you know it’s going to take everybody a different length of time to fully get over it and kind of move on. That’s something we’re dealing with right now but hopefully we can get through this trip and shake it off, and come Monday in Cincy, everyone is refreshed and ready to go.”

Kendall Waston, the captain of the club in 2019, said he and other players are taking an active role in trying to keep the locker room united for the fast-approaching March 1 opener against New York Red Bulls.

Waston said the contingent of returning players from the 2019 season, along with their familiarity with Damet, could hasten the healing process.

Winning at the outset of the season would help, too, Waston added.

“That is what we have been doing, I think, from yesterday because everybody react different. The way I speak to you can’t be the same way I speak to the others because they are not going to receive it in the same way,” Waston said. “Some will be more affected than the others, but now we know each other since last year so we know the different type of personalities of different players. And that is the way we are talking with some players and trying to forget this as soon as possible. To just focus on the main thing, on the pitch. If we start good in the season, this is gonna be over quicker.”