Greg Vanney has expressed himself with a great deal of eloquence for the majority of his tenure as Toronto FC coach.

Like most managers, though, from time to time he’s suggested his team played better than it actually did in thinly veiled attempts to protect his players and minimize the media backlash after a particularly poor performance.

But that’s become exceedingly less the case since he first took over the coaching reins two years ago. Vanney, for the most part, has become a straight shooter among Major League Soccer coaches. He’ll call a spade a spade, and does it without an ounce of hyperbole. Forthrightness has become his trademark in diagnosing his team’s shortcomings, his dissection calm and cool, and always put into context.

Take last Sunday’s 3–3 draw at home against the New York Red Bulls, for instance.

Vanney admitted he was disappointed with how his team gave up three soft goals and committed so many big defensive errors in allowing New York to take a 3–1 lead early in the second half. At the same time, he lauded his players for the determination they displayed in coming back to earn a draw.

“I am very proud of the character of this group to be able to fight back twice after [committing] some really bad mistakes that often kick you in the gut and take some steam out of you,” Vanney said.

In a sign of how much this team has grown under Vanney and how much the mindset in the locker room has changed, TFC’s coach said his players weren’t at all satisfied with salvaging a point.

“They’re disappointed that we got a draw because their vision, and what they want from themselves, is to really get out in front of the Eastern Conference and they wanted to win today,” Vanney said.

He later added: “All things being said, we’ll take it because we fought hard… This is a sign that this group [of players] is different than any of the other groups that came before them.”

You know what? He’s right.

Previous TFC sides would have wilted and given up after going down 3-1. Even as early as a year ago, this team was still mentally fragile, and prone to folding. The slightest bit of adversity scared them off. Not anymore, though.

Sunday’s come-from-behind effort against New York was the perfect example. Upon going two goals down, Toronto didn’t start to hastily lump balls forward. Instead, they played the “long game,” slowly but continuously pecking away at New York, confident that they’d eventually break their opponents down. They were rewarded for their patience in the form of Jozy Altidore brace that allowed them to rescue a point.

Panic is no longer in the team’s DNA, and that’s in large part thanks to Vanney. He exudes a quiet confidence at all times, and the incredible culture change that this franchise has undergone is an extension of his deportment, philosophy and coaching style.

Vanney sets the tone with his calm but assured demeanour—TFC’s results on the field and its current standing as the top team in the Eastern Conference are a reflection of that.

“He’s got a very calm demeanour,” veteran defender Drew Moor said. “He doesn’t get too high, he doesn’t get too low. He’s managing some big personalities in the locker room and everybody’s happy, everybody’s excited. Everybody’s working toward the same goal, week in, week out.”

Vanney has worked hard to get Moor and his teammates to buy in by making sure that each player, even those who don’t see a great deal of action, know their worth and feel as though they are contributing.

“There are a lot of coaches who have their starting 11 and that’s it—they really work their 11 and everybody else is on the perimeter,” Vanney recently told Sportsnet.ca. “For me, every guy has to be invested, and feel as though they play a role in our success as a team. Once you establish that, then you get the ultimate buy-in.”

This philosophy served the Reds quite well over the summer when it was mired in a major injury crisis that sidelined a number of its key starters. The club weathered the storm as the likes of Alex Bono, Jay Chapman, Benoit Cheyrou and Marky Delgado stepped up and helped Toronto climb to the top of the Eastern Conference table.

All of which is not to paint Vanney as a managerial savant. In a lot of ways, he’s still learning his craft.

But he has grown into the role of Toronto FC coach. At the same time, TFC has matured into a confident team, very much in the coach’s image.

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