Head Coach Adrian Heath
On the team mentality…
“We’ve come out of the weekend pretty good, obviously [we were] hugely disappointed after the game, but as I had said to the guys: We’re a point closer to we were [before]. We’ve got three games to play and we probably need to win a couple of them. It would be in our hands then. We’ve got a lot to play for. The results, the way they transpired, went for us a little bit this weekend. We’re still in there fighting, and we will until it’s mathematically impossible not to be there [in the playoffs]. We’ve been to LA[FC] and won there in the past, now we have to go and try to do it again.”
On staying focused and ignoring the noise surrounding playoffs and opponents…
“You can listen to all of the outside noise but the bottom line is we have to win a couple of games, we know that. It’s been amazing, twelve games ago I said that we had to win five and maybe draw one… we’re still in a position where if we win two games, we’ll probably make the playoffs because everybody is playing each other. Let’s get refocused, get rid of the disappointment of the weekend and go again.”
On how Teemu Pukki’s consecutive goal-scoring has grown his confidence and help the team…
“Teemu’s [Pukki] reputation and his history show you that he’s a goal-scorer. He could have, conceivably, had a lot more than the five [goals] in six [games] that he’s had. If we create chances on Wednesday and next Saturday, hopefully he’ll put them in the back of the net. There’s nothing like scoring goals for confidence for strikers.”
On Minnesota’s road form as an advantage ahead of playing LAFC…
“We’ve been to LA[FC] in difficult circumstances and got results in the past. It wasn’t an ideal result for them yesterday and they’ll know that this is probably a big game for them as well. There’s a lot at stake, it’s really important for both teams. We’re going to have to play really well. But if we do play really well and take our opportunities when they come, I feel we have a good chance.”
On the takeaways from the match against LA Galaxy ahead of the match on Saturday…
“The weekend game will take care of itself. We need to just focus everything that we’ve got on the LAFC fixture. Let’s see where we are after the outcome of that game. If we get a result, any type of result, it means we’re still going into that final home game of the season with everything to play for… that’s what we’ve got to believe.”
Goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair
On the mentality of the team with a quick turnaround…
“We know how big of a game it is for both teams, them [LAFC] losing last night heightens what the result will mean for them on Wednesday. It’s [between] two teams that need wins. We’re definitely going in with the mindset that we can get the win and turn the ship around. For us, it’s about going in with the mentality that although it’s short rest, we can go in there and get a result because we’ve done it in the past. But it’s also a difficult place to play. [We need to] take advantage of our moments and getting the best out of it.”
On working with the backline to remain solid against the LAFC attack…
“It’s no secret that they [LAFC] have a lot of quality, especially in the final third. It’s going to be very important for us to keep a compact shape and be aware of those transition moments because a lot of their goals can come from those moments. It’s about making sure that we’re in good, preventative spaces and staying compact so they can’t play through us.”
On defending leads that bring positive results…
“It goes back to our defensive identity [we set] from the beginning. It’s about staying compact and putting your body on the line: Having the willingness to block shots, block crosses, keep the ball out of the net and a little bit more desire to stop our opponents and have that willingness to see the result through.”
On takeaways from the last match against LA Galaxy and expectations from that squad…
“We put ourselves in a position to get that result away from home, and unfortunately, we let it slip through our hands which we can’t shy away from. We know that we had the ability to win the game, and we can take confidence from that. A lot of those goals came from personal mistakes from a bunch of individuals, including myself. [We have to] be able to limit those mistakes. They [LA Galaxy] weren’t a team that steamrolled us and played us out of the park and beat us. A lot of our individual mistakes led to their comeback. Eliminating those mistakes will give us an opportunity to win.”
