CARSON, Calif. - When a team wins only three of 27 games and is the first Major League Soccer club eliminated from the playoffs, change seems all but inevitable.
For Chivas USA, that rings true. The Red-and-White have the worst record and fewest points in all of MLS and the club could yet set a mark for league futility.
Such unflattering marks are cause for change, and the Chivas players are fully aware that jobs are on the line.
"We don't know what's going to happen next year," Chivas forward Antonio Martinez said. "It doesn't matter if you're playing 90 minutes or not at all. We're all responsible and we all have to be held accountable at the end of the year."
Like so many others on the squad, Martinez has spent long stretches as both a starter and a bench player. Then-coach Thomas Rongen and current boss Hans Westerhof tried in vain to find the right combination of players.
Down the stretch, Westerhof said work will carry on in the same manner as before, even with no hope of the playoffs.
"For us, there is no change. It's the same," Westerhof said.
Although the last five matches won't mean a thing in terms of the playoffs, the matches are just as crucial to everyone involved - starters and reserves alike - as the first 27 did.
"There's a lot at stake. Obviously people are playing for their jobs," Chivas defender Ezra Hendrickson said. "There are definitely going to be changes made next year because the team needs to get better."
As the team sunk deeper and deeper into the Western Conference abyss, some changes were made. Juan Pablo Garcia signed with the club in early July and soon after Francisco Palencia, Hector "Pirata" Castro and Sergio "Matute" Garcia joined the club as well. The reinforcements, however, haven't been able to change the club's fortunes.
"It's clear that with this team with the reinforcements we have a lot of quality but we still lack cohesiveness," Westerhof said.
Martinez said he was puzzled as to the club's severe misfortunes.
"We have a good squad right now. I don't know what went wrong," he said. "We just have to keep plugging away and whoever's here next year has to try to work hard and hopefully get better results."
With no shot at the playoffs, the team is relegated to playing a spoiler's role. Aside from San Jose, Saturday's opponent, Chivas USA faces Colorado (twice), Columbus and the MetroStars - all clubs battling for their playoff lives.
But simply knocking others out of the playoff chase will not necessarily make the club feel good, however. So what is the main on-field goal for the club?
"(To) finish off the season on a strong note," Hendrickson said. "This offseason, there's going to be a lot of shifting and stuff so we've got to prove that we belong here. That's what it's all about right now, not losing focus on what we need to do as a team but still securing our jobs for next year."
Luis Bueno is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
