NYCFC Head Coach Nick Cushing says he feels inspired every day by the ‘special energy’ of New York City and its people.
The 38-year-old, who celebrated his birthday yesterday, has enjoyed a memorable week: appointed Club Head Coach after leading the team to the Campeones Cup and Eastern Conference Final as Interim.
The news also extends his personal journey with the City Football Group. Starting his career as a coach in Manchester City’s Academy in 2006, he took the reins of the Blues’ women’s team, guiding the Club to six trophies, before joining NYCFC as Assistant Coach to Ronny Deila in 2020.
Named as Interim Head Coach in June, Cushing now takes the helm on a permanent basis, and expressed his delight and immense pride, declaring he is excited to create more unforgettable memories in the city he now calls ‘home.’
“It's a really amazing feeling, a real proud moment for me in my career,” he reflected. “I came here in 2020 and from the moment I arrived in New York, I've been really inspired by the city. I'm so happy and so proud to be here for longer.
“It’s hard not to feel at home here. New York City is such a special place: it has special people, it has a real special energy to it. Wherever you are from, the people here make you feel like home.
“Wherever you go in one of the five boroughs, you'll meet somebody special who can tell you something that makes you laugh, or inspires you, and that's how we want our training facility, that's how we want our games to be: special people in a special place doing special things. That to me is New York City.
“It's a real special place and I’m really inspired by the energy of our Football Club. The moment that I walked through the doors into the training facility, I felt that here with all of the staff, and it's not just the coaching staff – it goes from our kitman to our photographer; to our chef, to the guys in the Manhattan office. There are some real special people here.
“We feed off our city, we feed off our fans, and that's the one thing that pushes the guys on the pitch, the sporting staff, and the wider staff: to continue to provide a team that entertains, but to continue to provide a team that wins, and that ultimately plays with the passion that our fans and our city delivers us. It’s such a special place and I'm so proud to be part of it.
“To be Head Coach and have the responsibility of taking this incredible Football Club forward, to lead all of the people within the team, and to continue being successful is one I'm really excited about, and I really have a huge desire to continue to be successful here.”
With comprehensive knowledge of the CFG philosophy to play beautiful football and develop young talent, Cushing is highly regarded for his coaching ability, tactical nous, and player-management.
His influence shone through towards the latter end of the 2022 campaign as the Boys in Blue crafted several breathtaking goals, and following September’s trophy success and a strong finish to the season, Cushing adds he is relishing the challenge of leading the team to more silverware, celebrating more unforgettable moments with the City fans.
“It's another challenge for me in my personal journey – one I'm incredibly excited about,” he continued.
“When I joined the organization in 2006, I've always had a real desire to challenge myself, and improve and learn, and this is another moment in my career, another team within the organization.
“From the moment that I arrived in the organization, my expectations on me are to be the best that I can be – to continue to grow, to continue to learn, and I put that expectation on everybody around me. The job for me is for everybody to have a passion to learn, and a passion to be better.
“As Head Coach, my desire and my responsibility is always for this team to learn lessons. When we're good and we win trophies, we have to understand why and when we don't, we have to make sure that we reflect fully on why we didn't win, and how we continue to be successful and win more.
“There were many highlights in in the season. Of course, there was some ups and some downs, and that's something that I'm really excited to reflect on and review with my staff to make sure that we improve the team, moving into 2023.
“I’m really proud of how the players played, the way that they coped with change mid-season, the way that we coped with all of the challenges that were thrown at us through the season… To get to two Eastern Conference Finals in two years, I'm proud of that – but the aim is to continue to improve, continue to learn and make sure that we're there next season.
“I understand it is an incredibly difficult league and that's why I enjoy working here so much – the league is so competitive, the challenge is so hard, but we've proved that we can meet the challenge, and we want to grow, we want to learn, we want to improve, and we want do better than we did in previous seasons.
“We’re proud that we continue to be successful as New York City Football Club, but we've got so much more to give. Our fans deserve a team that plays good football but also delivers trophies, and I have that desire to continue that.
“Ultimately, the aim for us and for me is: I want to deliver our fans more special occasions. I think of that game in Citi Field in Queens – the Miami playoff game at home… It was such a special game, and the energy and the passion of our fans was amazing.
“The players performed because of that and if we can in the future deliver a Conference Final, the dream is an MLS Cup Final in in New York… It would be amazing.
“I have to say thank you for the energy they have given me, the support they have given me as the Head Coach from June. All we've tried to do is give back and in those moments when we haven't been able to deliver results, we've reflected and we've tried to work harder.
“Moving into 2023, be behind us, and one thing I can guarantee is: everybody from Brad [Sims], Dave [Lee], myself, everybody within the facility here, we will work incredibly hard to deliver what you deserve – and that is a football team that entertains, but also a football team that has a huge desire, a huge hunger and wants to win.”