Clint Peay: Revs players ‘united in a cause’ to win MLS Cup
Few coaches take over a team on the cusp of clinching a playoff berth in their first game at the helm. That’s the situation Clint Peay, the newest Interim Head Coach of the New England Revolution, walked into last week after his battlefield promotion to the head job on Tuesday night.
In his first match in charge, the Revs fell short of punching their postseason ticket with a disappointing 2-1 loss to the dismal Colorado Rapids, which happened to be on Peay’s 50th birthday. With just six games remaining and the Revs locked in a heated battle for the homefield advantage, the Revs’ interim manager knows he cannot let the players take their feet off the gas.
“The guys are united in a cause, and that’s to win MLS Cup” Peay said during his first appearance on Zolak & Bertrand on Wednesday. “We’re slowly trying to put it back together in terms of believing in ourselves and doing the right thing on the field that make you successful.”
On Saturday night, a mile above sea level, the Revolution dug themselves a 2-0 hole against the last-place Rapids. A late goal from defender Omar Gonzalez, on Carles Gil’s team-high 13th assist, wasn’t enough to claw back a result for the visitors. With the result, the Revs winless streak extends to three games and the team slipped down one spot to third in the Eastern Conference standings.
“We looked at ourselves and owned up to our mistakes,” Peay added. “We need to be better. We’re not going to hide from that.”
New England’s next match against Chicago Fire FC starts a string of six straight games against Eastern Conference teams in the playoff race, making every point crucial over the season’s final month.
Reinforcements seem to have arrived just in time for Peay, as the newest Revolution goalkeeper Tomáš Vaclík participated in his first training with the club on Tuesday. The Czech Republic native, a five-time domestic league champion with 54 international caps for his country, has had an illustrious career in Europe that includes stints at FC Basel, Huddersfield Town, and Sevilla, where he won a Europa League title.
“He’s got a tremendous amount of experience being the Czech [Republic] national team goalkeeper,” Peay said. “He’s just arrived, so we’re feeling him out. He’s feeling us out. I think as we see more of him and he gets to know us, we’ll have a better assessment of where he is and how he can help us.”
New England’s match against Chicago Fire FC kicks off at 8:30 p.m. ET on Saturday night. Watch the match free on Apple TV, in English or Spanish, or listen to Brad Feldman and Charlie Davies’ local call on 98.5 The Sports Hub.
