Heron Talk
Inter Miami is back at home defending the pitch at DRV PNK Stadium on Wednesday, Aug. 18 to take on Chicago Fire FC as the Herons look to bounce back from the weekend loss.
Head coach Phil Neville reflected on the recent defeat, sharing his key takeaways on the identity of the team.
“The identity of the team is just beginning to take shape. And we need to kick on and bounce back now in what’s an important game tomorrow night. I think everybody knows the importances of the next two home games,” Neville said.
While previewing the next several games in the near future, Neville spoke about the team performing for 90 minutes on the field and recovering so that every player maintains their level of fitness.
“That’s why we’ve got to make sure that now we’re ready for the games. It’s now about winning the three points, about making sure that we’re being really hard to beat, and about being really competitive.”
Neville emphasized the importance of the team's overall performance and commitment to the game plan while facing off against a well-coached and hungry Chicago Fire team.
“Ultimately we need to focus on our performance, and ourselves on sticking to the game plan, on the game plan picking the right team, choosing the right system,” Neville said.
Goalkeeper Nick Marsman also reiterated the urgency of executing Inter Miami’s style of play and belief in one another on the pitch.
“The most important [thing] for us is we have to create our own game, our way of playing, our style, and then it doesn’t matter who you play against. We have to trust in our qualities, in our skills, and then the opponent has to adjust to us. So, I think that’s the most important but you need confidence for that.”
With the Herons’ upcoming schedule, Marsman highlighted that, as a team, it is crucial to remain present on the task at hand, competing game by game as a solid unit.
“We try to focus on each game because they are coming fast after each other so I think it’s very important for us to focus on the game tomorrow, to be ready for the game, to give everything and we need all players in the squad to be ready to come in to help us, to bring energy and I think we really have to do it as a team,” Marsman said.
