Head Coach Patrick Vieira believes there is still plenty of room for improvement, despite New York City FC’s unbeaten start.
The Frenchman has been satisfied with the level of performances produced in the opening five games and is looking for more when City lock horns with Real Salt Lake on Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium.
It’s been 31 days since the Boys in Blue graced the Bronx and Vieira is looking forward to getting back in the building and maintaining the consistent high levels NYCFC have reached thus far.
READ:Major Keys to the Match – NYCFC vs. Real Salt Lake
Vieira told NYCFC.com: “We have to keep this consistency in our performance, to keep playing well as a team when we have the ball and when we don’t.
“The message to all the players is that we’re one team - some players start some game but the next one could be completely different. Every player has to be ready to play when they have the opportunity. I’m really happy with all of the players coming from the bench, they really bring something to the team and that’s how we’re going to bring success to this football club.”
Vieira will be boosted by the returns of several key figures who missed the trips to New England and San Jose.
With a big road game at Atlanta coming up on Saturday, Patrick knows he will have to rely on all members of the squad if the strong start to 2018 is to continue.
“It’s a good start to the season,” Vieira reflected, “When the team is playing well and you manage to win games, it’s always positive.
“There are still a lot of parts of the game we need to improve and when you don’t play during the weekend, that allowed some players who were injured to return to the team.
“I’m quite really happy to have everyone involved. The only one who is missing is Kwame.
“It’s really important for us to take it step by step. We are focused and concentrated on Salt Lake and thinking how we can manage to play well.
Then, we’ll think about the next one afterwards.”
City took on RSL in preseason but Vieira believes this will be a different game entirely, especially after their win over in-form Vancouver Whitecaps last weekend.
He added: “This will be a completely different game. They look really strong, they’re working really hard for each other. You just have to look at the last game, so we are expecting a really tough game.
“I’m really happy with the intensity we’ve worked with for the last few games, so hopefully we make a good start.”
