COMMERCE CITY, Colo. — When head coach Gary Smith brought Macoumba Kandji and Brian Mullan into the Colorado Rapids set-up on the transfer deadline day in mid-September, he had different motives for each move.
With Kandji, it was undoubtedly a move for the longer term, polishing him up over the next few years to turn him into a suitable replacement for Omar Cummings in case the Jamaican striker gets picked up by an international club.
With four-time MLS Cup veteran Mullan, obtained from the Houston Dynamo in exchange for Colin Clark, Smith’s primary focus was this year’s playoffs. Not that the savvy veteran doesn't have some time left to run up and down the flanks, but the Rapids head coach needed an experienced player with real MLS pedigree to help see his side through to the 2010 postseason. Mullan was the man.
The Rapids still need at least one point in their last two games to secure a postseason berth. Saturday’s trip to Los Angeles to face a Galaxy side seeking the Supporters’ Shield will be just the sort of tough environment where Smith will rely on his most experienced players to help pull the team through.
[inline_node:318587]Mullan said at Rapids training on Thursday that the sudden nature of the trade last month hadn’t really given him a lot of time to think about playoff implications at the time, but that his focus now is 100 percent on that.
“It has been a bit of whirlwind,” he said. “I wasn’t paying a whole lot of attention to all the stuff swirling around, but we are in a good spot here. Obviously, you’re not in until you are in, but we are definitely in a good spot.”
Mullan is conscious how he and the likes of Pablo Mastroeni and two-time MLS Cup finalist Jeff Larentowicz can help some of the less experienced players deal with the increased intensity such crucial regular-season games bring.
“I wouldn’t say you can reassure them or you can give them confidence,” Mullan said. “You just need to express to them that they need to give it their all. Every second of a game counts. There can’t be any mental lapses.”
Mullan said LA will offer a stern challenge, but it won’t be any tougher than recent road trips to Real Salt Lake and FC Dallas.
“That was definitely a tough game there,” he said of RSL on Sept. 25. “They are a good team, they work well with the ball. I would expect LA to come out and play hard as well in a game of this magnitude.”
The Rapids kick off against the LA Galaxy in Carson, Calif., at 10:30 p.m. ET on Saturday.
