ORANGEBURG, N.Y. ā The embarrassing 4-0 derby defeat to the New York Red Bulls Saturday wasnāt a warning sign for New York City FC coach Patrick Vieira.
The fact that the Red Bulls' high press disrupted NYCFCās build-from-the-back philosophy doesnāt mean there needs to be a tactical change. Rather, as Vieira said after the match, itās about an attitude adjustment.
āWe were really sloppy, too slow to make our decisions and then with the way they play and the way they work, it became more difficult for us,ā Vieira said after training Wednesday. āEven after the second goal we didnāt react, we didnāt show personality. For me, this is the biggest problem more than just losing the game.ā
Vieira has been steadfast about his team keeping their identity and, even after a lopsided loss, he was adamant āitās not going to change at all.āā
āThis is the way weāve been working since Iāve been in this football club, try to move the ball quicker, try to make a quicker decision. I think when you play some teams more than other ones, it has to be even quicker,ā Vieira said. āI think the Red Bulls are the team that if youāre taking too long to make a decision, if you donāt know what to do even before you get the ball at your feet, it will be difficult because of the way they close you down and the mobility and toughness of the players they have on the team.ā
Quick decision making was at the heart of the clubās spirited training session Wednesday, the first step Swedish fullback Anton Tinnerholm said to bouncing back from a performance on the weekend that he deemed āunacceptable.ā
āIt was a lot of duels and a lot of runs and it was a tough training with a lot of intensity,ā Tinnerholm said. āI think this is just what we need after that game.ā
Tinnerholm said the tactics donāt need to be changed. Itās the sharpness and proper positioning that is critical when playing out of the back.
āOur philosophy is not going to change,ā Tinnerholm said. āWe talked about it in meetings and itās all about our positions, how we are positioned when weāre building up and try to help each other. The last game it felt like the guys who had the ball didnāt have that many options, which made it hard for the guys with the ball. Itās more about having the right position from the start and then we need to help each other better.ā
Vieira wasnāt surprised in the response on the training pitch and called the showdown with LAFC Sunday (8:30 pm ET | FS1 - Full TV & streaming info) a perfect chance to āshow how strong we are as a team.ā
āEven after the game Iām still convinced we have a competitive team,ā Vieira said. āWe have a really good team and weāre going to be there challenging the best teams in this league.ā