Inter Miami CF head coach Phil Neville knew the questions were coming after his team dropped a 1-0 decision at Houston Dynamo FC Saturday night to suffer their sixth-straight loss.
"They're right to look at me," the third-year manager said of fans who are losing patience with the Herons, currently stuck near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings (14th place) with a 2W-6L-0D record.
Without missing a beat, Neville also implored supporters to be more understanding of his squad.
"What I would say is to keep believing in the players," the Englishman said after a game where newcomers Kamal Miller and Dixon Arroyo debuted in the starting XI.
The above statement doesn't mean Neville thinks his players are completely blameless for the team's poor form, which follows two wins at home to open the year.
"I was angry with them," Neville said, clearly frustrated that Daniel Steres' 72nd-minute goal was enough to give the Dynamo the win despite being outshot 20-11 by Miami.
"I was not angry with their effort. They did everything that I asked, apart from one thing: put the ball in the back of the net."
Finding the back of the net has been a serious problem of late for the Herons, who have now gone three straight games without tallying a goal.
According to Neville, Miami's lack of ruthlessness was the only thing that kept them from taking all three points from Shell Energy Stadium.
"I think you saw a team that deserved to win the game. You can write what you want, you can believe what you want, but that’s a fact," Neville asserted.
Neville is no stranger to facing this type of adversity with the Herons, having endured an 11-game winless streak in 2021, as well as going the first five games of the 2022 season without a victory. The club managed to make the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs – losing in the first round to New York City FC – despite the latter streak, but Neville knows he can only push his luck so far.
"It’s nowhere near good enough for what we want at this football club," he acknowledged.
And for Neville, there's only one way to fix a season that's quickly slipping away after just nine matchdays.
"We've just got to keep going, keep believing in everything that we do, keep believing that the tide will turn," Neville said. " ... We’ve got to turn it around ASAP."
