Fireside 7 by Shane Murray, April 21, 2018

I spoke to head coach Veljko Paunovic and three players during the week for this story on the reaction to Pauno’s and Dax’s take on where the team is now and this one focusing on Nemanja Nikolic and Aleksandar Katai. Here are the full transcripts of those interviews.

Head coach Veljko Paunovic

Thoughts on claiming four points from a possible 15 and how to approach two difficult road games?

I think we just have to stick together, work on improving, getting better, fixing things. We are obviously not happy with the performances so far, but we believe in what we are doing, we believe in each other, I believe in this group, I believe in our capacity to fix things, and most importantly I believe in myself. I know that I can fix this and I’m 100 percent that I’m going to do it.

Reaction to Dax McCarty’s statement that the team was “below average” and “lacking quality all over the field”?

Basically we are saying the same things, but I am the coach, not Dax. What he said, it’s his perception, but I’m the coach, I see more than any player and anyone around me and the most important thing is that when we say there are improvements, we have some positives from this game, we are not saying we are above average, there is no contradiction. We are saying the same things but from different perspectives, me as a coach and he as a player. And when he says we are below average, well probably we are below the average in some things, but we are not below the average in others. So when you put all that together we still have to know that we have to get better, we have to move forward, we have to stick and be positive. We can always point to each other with different data and points in the game for whatever we might have done or not done well, but the point is that we have to fix it. I don’t think that the best way is to be negative, we have to stay positive. We have to acknowledge that we didn’t have a good start, but there is some progress and I think you can see that progress, especially in our second half.

Your assessment of Katai and do you expect more to come from him?

Yeah, definitely we want to build his momentum, where we believe his qualities can help the team a lot. Right now, he still has to get used to the pace, I think he got better in the last game, I think he had a good performance coming off the bench, but he also needs to learn the style of officiating the other teams and we’re working towards that. Fitness-wise, he is very fast, especially with the ball and I think we can benefit from that, but we have to be careful in bringing him to the level where it doesn’t hurt his confidence or the confidence of the team in him, and that’s what we are doing right now.

Do you think too much of the scoring load has been placed on Nikolic?

Everyone expects that everyone can do his job well and he has showed that and proved that in the past. Nobody is putting any pressure on Niko or any other player in terms of whatever the role it is, it’s just do your best and that’s what we are doing. I don’t think we should actually point at Niko at this point, it’s all of us have to do a better job, Niko included, but not only on the side of scoring goals. I think he is proven, he is the guy that nobody’s going to discuss his capacity, but we all have to do our job better.

On potential additions coming in before the close of the window?

We have a couple of weeks still, the window is open, we are working on both markets here in the United States and the international market. It’s not easy to bring all the pieces you want at the same time and sometimes with the calendar year it’s different here and there, so we will see what happens.

Whether additions come in this window or the summer window, are you confident you have the pieces available to you to mount a serious playoff run?

For sure in the next transfer window, not because of the transfer window but we will have our injured boys back, which is the most important thing for our team now. To get back Polster, Lucho, Djordje, Michael and whoever is right now in the treatment room, that’s what the first thing we want to fix and then obviously we are like every other club, we are active at the market and we will see what other possibilities. I can only say that I am confident that we will turn things around, that’s the only thing. How? It could be with the pieces we have, if that doesn’t work with the pieces who are coming back and if that doesn’t work then there are pieces that we have to bring in. And if we don’t bring in anyone, we’ll still have to figure it out.

Do you expect any of the guys on the roster to be the subject of interest elsewhere?

I don’t control that, but it’s definitely 100 percent possible that somebody may have interest in some of our players, but that’s the part of this sport that we don’t control. We’ll see what happens.

Left back Brandon Vincent

How does the team approach two difficult games on the road?

Obviously, as anyone could imagine, there is frustration in the group with the results but that doesn’t mean we start pointing fingers and blaming each other. We have to stick together in these moments, going to tough places, believe in each other and keep working.

Taking into account the post-game statements from Pauno and Dax, where do you think the truth lies?

It’s tough to say, I guess it depends. You can find positives in any situation and you can find negatives in any situation. Being realistic, we want to be optimistic and it’s just trying to find a balance between the two to know where we’re at and also not get down on ourselves and make it a vicious cycle downwards. We want to keep pushing forwards, so you can see both sides.

How are things different with not having David Accam playing in front of you?

Obviously David’s a great player, he brought a lot of attention from other teams with his individual quality, so it’s a different look for us this year, especially when we play with a three or a five back, it’s kind of the wing backs’ responsibility to cover that whole wing, which is a lot of work. Having David there was certainly an asset, but we adapt and change our game to try to fill the need that we need now.

With that, what has Pauno said he is expecting from you this year?

There hasn’t been anything specific, just when I see the moments that I can contribute to make sure they are good ones and try to execute. And that’s what I’ve been trying to do.

What have you seen from Katai?

He’s a quality player, you can tell that when he comes on the field. He’s got really good feet, good moves, good vision, so he’s definitely an asset for us.

Do you think there is too pressure on Nikolic to score the goals for this team?

I think he would invite that kind of pressure and competition, but he’s a goal scorer and I think he’s going to be successful no matter what.

Center back Jonathan Campbell

Where do you think the team is in relation to what Pauno and Dax said after the LA game?

I think they’re both right. I think what Pauno is saying is that at times we’ve created some good chances. In the second half [against LA] we were definitely creating more, obviously with the wind which played a big factor in that game, where the first half was difficult and the second half was much easier for us. We were creating those chances and what Pauno’s saying is that we’re starting to create better chances, create more of an identity of how we want to play. And so building off of that, that’s where we want to go. On the opposite side, Dax, what he’s saying is that we did relatively well on Ibra, but then we turned off for a second and allowed him to sneak in a goal, and that’s partly a lack of quality, right there in that moment. So I think what he’s saying is those small moments where it matters in a game, if we can turn those little things around and add quality in those precise moments, then it’ll look a lot better because we do have better options overall, like Pauno’s saying. I think it’s maybe that final pass, or that connecting pass in the midfield that we’re missing right now, where if you get that the whole game opens up. So I think we’re right in between.

Do you think there’s too much of an expectation on Nikolic to produce with not many goals coming from elsewhere?

No, I would just say that Niko, everyone knows his qualities, he’s a very good finisher but he’s going to need service. He’s going to need the build-up play around it and I think that’s where it comes from. It’s difficult when you only give him a few chances in a game, we expect a lot from him, but that makes it very difficult on him and I think being able to just create that build-up play around him and being able to possess the ball higher up the field, all of that will allow him to get his chances and you know, when you just leave it up to him and he’s the only one in the box it can be difficult. So I don’t he has too high of expectations around him or anything like that. We expect a lot out of him but he’s definitely proven it.

Striker Nemanja Nikolic

How do you approach the two tough road games with a view to going out there and winning them?

For sure, we are not in the place that we want to be, it’s obvious, and we are working to find the form from last year when we win the games, at home especially. We need to find our best formation, of course we have a lot of injured players, and also this is starting from our preseason. So, it’s not excuses, it’s just we need to find a solution for this. Of course every single player will fight for his position for the team and we will do our best to find the form from the last year. We have had a couple of unlucky games at home, especially here against Kansas City for example, a game that we needed to win, first game. If we won that game you turn the result and everything will start in the other way. Now we lost that first game, we lose a second game, we start to be a little frustrated, but ok, we just need to think what is in front of us. It is a difficult schedule, but we now need to show our character, our mentality, our personality and we need to start to win games. It will not be easy but we do our best and we try to find our form.

Do you think too much of the scoring burden is on your shoulders?

Last year I scored goals and we also had David [Accam] who scored a lot of goals and made a lot of assists. Of course, it’s always better if you have a couple of players who are scoring than just one player but the pressure is on me, I know that everybody expects here goals from me, the supporters, my teammates, the coaching staff, and it’s ok. They bring me because of this and I will try to do my best. With these four goals I am satisfied and not, but I will keep working to give my best for the team and the good thing is that my teammates know me much better than last year, they believe in me and what is good for me. We now have players who will coming up, it is just the beginning of the season, for sure we will find the players who will score the goals, we just need to find our form and when we find our form and our style of the game, for sure the players will start to play better and score the goals, especially the players up front.

What have you seen so far from Katai and can he play a bigger part than he has so far?

Katai is a great player, he has great skills and he’s a player who can help us, for sure. He needs to adapt, I know the best how difficult it is when you come here from Europe and immediately need to start to play. I had easier job because I came in the beginning of the preseason so I was with the team more than two months when the season started. He came in the end of the preseason, mostly before the season, so for him it’s quite difficult and quite different from what he had in Europe, but everybody in the club believes in him, we know that he is a good player and he will help us. Of course, we can not say we have time to give him, we don’t have time, but still we will help him in everything that he needs to show his quality and ability and how I say, I am sure that he will be an important part of this team.