NEW YORK ā Ben Olsen understands his role as interim head coach: Get struggling D.C. United back on track. Being Unitedās manager, whether interim or not, has been a thankless job this season and one reportedly not on offer to Olsen for next year. But he remains hopeful.
āWould I like to coach this team next year? Yeah, I would,ā Olsen said on MLSsoccer.comās ExtraTime Radio.
LISTEN: Olsen on ExtraTime Radio
What would keep that from happening is Olsenās lack of experience on the bench. He is less than a year removed from his playing career and had been former D.C. coach Curt Onalfo's assistant for just less than eight months before being named interim manager on August 5.
āThereās a lot of good coaches out there,ā Olsen said, āand I realize Iāve been on the job for six or seven months. So is [it] realistic [to want the job]? I donāt know.ā
The task facing Olsen would be daunting, even for a much more experienced manager. D.C. United have been in the MLS cellar all season. With a record of 5-16-3, good for just 18 points in 24 games, the teamās results rank among the worst in league history.
On Saturday, though, the Black-and-Red won their second game under Olsen, a 1-0 victory away to Toronto.
āI think, in a lot of ways all year, but in particular these last two months, weāve been doing a lot of good things,ā Olsen said. āWe just havenāt made the play that counts, and it was a matter of us getting that done. And I think we finally got that done in good fashion.ā
Getting it done next Saturday will be more difficult. United travel to the West Coast for a showdown with the league-leading Los Angeles Galaxy at The Home Depot Center.