TORONTO — No one with the Reds is making excuses for Toronto FC’s failure to take all three points against Chivas USA on Saturday.
However, there were some legitimate factors that made a victory more difficult than it might have been under optimal circumstances — namely the trading of offensive catalyst Dwayne De Rosario and the addition of two new faces into the starting lineup.
“Obviously there have been some changes,” Stefan Frei said following Tuesday's training session. “We had a bunch of guys playing that didn’t really know each other.”
The most consistent thing about the TFC lineup over the last four has been its inconsistency — there have been more than 90 players to suit up for the Reds since the team’s founding. Frei acknowledges that makes it difficult to win.
“For [the new players] to wake up in the morning and play right away without knowing anybody and just meeting them for the first time is probably not the easiest,” he said.
However, Frei, who was named the club’s vice-captain last weekend, stressed that it’s imperative for the players to overcome the challenge and stay focused on getting better this week against San Jose.
“We need to take advantage of this week’s practice and get to know each other better,” he said.
Head coach Aron Winter echoed his goalkeeper and said TFC continues to be a work in progress. Nonetheless, he is seeing some positives.
“Every time [we work together], the things that we want to do are getting better,” Winter said. “You see it in the game that there are parts that we are doing better — but it’s not good enough yet."
