MONTREAL – Joey Saputo didn’t even wait for the final whistle.
By the time Montreal’s 3-0 home defeat by Sporting Kansas City ended on Saturday, the Impact owner’s stoppage-time tweet had been retweeted 35 times already. It also shaped the postgame talk.
Given the Impact’s history with coaches, Frank Klopas was swiftly asked about Saputo’s comments promising more changes for the club.
“I don’t know, you’d have to speak with him,” Klopas told reporters. “But I know the frustration of the fans, and it’s understandable. They come to support the team, I know that. In the end, I’m the coach and it’s my responsibility, I guess, when the results are not there, and I know that.
“For me, I know that I’m doing the right thing in training with the group,” Klopas continued. “You can look at this game, yes, we lost, but if you see how we lost the game, you can spin it any way you want. I always want the best for the club, and I don’t know what the president’s saying, but everyone has a right to be upset when you lose.”
The crowd also made its voice heard, as the Ultras Montréal supporters group sang former head coach Marco Schällibaum’s name many times during the encounter.
“That’s why they're fans,” goalkeeper Troy Perkins said. “They want results, they want a good team, especially in this city. They want to win, and they’re free to say what they want. And they’re going to say it, obviously. We have to take it for what it’s worth, but we’ve still got to keep doing our job.”
Perkins insisted, however, that this result wasn’t due to a lack of effort.
“The guys gave everything they had tonight, and at the end of the day, I guess it wasn’t enough,” Perkins said.
Down a man after Collen Warner’s 17th-minute ejection, Montreal chased the ball for long stretches of the game as Sporting KC passed and passed and passedon their way to team and individual records.
The Impact will have to regroup quickly. Or, to borrow Saputo’s turn of phrase, changes will be coming.
“I haven’t seen the president’s comments, but it’s his team,” captain Patrice Bernier said. “We’ll see. I can tell you that, tomorrow, we have to get going because we’re playing on Wednesday. On the good side – if you can say there’s a good side – we’re playing straightaway so we can evacuate that bad feeling of losing two games. The rest is not up to me to comment.”
Olivier Tremblay covers the Montreal Impact for MLSsoccer.com
