Minnesota United head coach Eric Ramsay is not putting together any underdog motivational video clips this week to jolt his team out of its current three-match losing streak. Nor impassioned us-against-the-world pep talks coming out of the National Sports Center in Blaine.
鈥淓ric is consistent,鈥� veteran defender Zarek Valentin said Tuesday. 鈥淎s a player, having a coach that is consistent is awesome. I鈥檝e been with coaches where we have high highs and low lows. That is tough because the group feeds off that energy. 鈥�
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鈥淚鈥檝e been a part of, I guess, both sets of coaches,鈥� Valentin continued. 鈥淥nes that if we have won a game, it鈥檚 as if we won MLS Cup. And if we lose, the Titanic is sinking. It鈥檚 nice to have a consistent voice and a consistent presence.鈥�
That doesn鈥檛 mean Ramsay is glossing over the Loons鈥� predicament. MNUFC is seriously shorthanded, and the first-year leader acknowledges that.
Going into Saturday鈥檚 match at Portland Timbers, four players remain away on international duties (Dayne St. Clair, Tani Oluwaseyi, Carlos Harvey and Alejandro Bran); two players have been transferred to European clubs (Kervin Arriaga and Victor Eriksson); key striker Teemu Pukki remains injured; vital defender Michael Boxall is nursing an ailment; and important midfielder Hassani Dotson will serve a red-card suspension this weekend.
Before Wednesday鈥檚 training session, Ramsay gathered the 14 total field players set to participate. He simply reminded them about how 鈥渉ard鈥� it is to continue with so few players. He then outlined tasks for the day and they went to work.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to pretend the situation is anything different to what it is,鈥� Ramsay told the Pioneer Press after practice. 鈥淚t is difficult. There is no way that I can wave the magic wand and make the situation better. I can鈥檛. We benefited early on in the season, having a good squad, being able to change, being able to freshen things up.鈥�
The Loons (8-6-5, 29 points) averaged 1.9 points per game over its opening 13 matches, but have managed only 0.6 over the last six. They went from among league leaders to the pack on its heels.
When the amount of points becomes less and less, Ramsay said the 鈥渢emptation is to end up doing more and more. 鈥� You hear horror stories of coaches that lengthen the day from half seven (a.m.) until five (p.m.). And I鈥檓 almost the opposite in that sense.鈥�
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Ramsay wants to avoid being the type of coach Valentin described.
鈥淲hat I don鈥檛 want to do is start blowing that situation up,鈥� Ramsay continued. 鈥淎nd sort of add more fuel to the fire by us being different versions of ourselves compared to the selves we were two or three weeks ago.鈥�
Ramsay also is not one to make excuses. He won鈥檛 even go so far as to acknowledge the exodus and then exit of the best player on the roster 鈥� Emanuel Reynoso 鈥� who was transferred to Club Tijuana in Mexico鈥檚 Liga MX at the end of May. The two-time MLS All-Star played all of a half-hour for the Loons this season.
Copa America has taken away his top goalkeeper (St. Clair) and his No. 1 striker (Oluwaseyi) and two backup midfielders (Bran and Harvey). Pukki would have gotten a renewed opportunity to step in for Oluwaseyi, but he got hurt playing for Finland in June and isn鈥檛 expected back until July 7 at the earliest.
There is believed to be a broader understanding within the club that the current circumstances are out of Ramsay鈥檚 control and that lulls happen regularly throughout MLS.
鈥淚 think if we would have every player available and we were really at full tilt and pushing and pushing and pushing and we weren鈥檛 getting results, that would be a far more concerning situation,鈥� Ramsay said Wednesday. 鈥淎s much as we are disappointed with last week, it鈥檚 certainly not the end of the world. As I first said when I came in here, you can see these peaks and troughs naturally occur in the MLS for nearly all teams. Our situation is a real extreme. I always felt that we would have to ride these periods with real calm.鈥�
That doesn鈥檛 mean Ramsay is content. Given the harsh circumstances, the on-field standards don鈥檛 shift. But a baseline expectation for results might alter. One or two points coming from those three games last week could have been deemed a success.
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During the 1-0 loss to Austin FC on Saturday, the Apple TV stream did show an unhappy Ramsay on the sideline on a few occasions.
鈥淚 am frustrated,鈥� Ramsay said. 鈥淭hat is the biggest thing I鈥檝e got to check myself on.鈥�
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