New York City FC kicked off preseason in Florida today, with Head Coach Ronny Deila hailing the Club’s young players.
The Norwegian tactician welcomed his squad back to work with the roster containing six promising young players from the NYCFC academy.
Reflecting on his first impressions of the camp, Deila told the official website: “It has been good. There is always good logistics here. The plane was perfect, a private plane down, and come to the hotel. It’s a good hotel, very close to the pitch, so we can use all of our energy training and then preparing for the season.”
NYCFC will begin their preseason campaign against the Chicago Fire on March 13 before a meeting with Orlando City five days later.
In the meantime, Deila and his staff will put the players through their paces, with clear goals in mind.
“First of all, the players haven’t been in games before now for two and a half months,” Deila added, “It’s about getting rhythm and getting the body to understand we are back on the pitch again. We also work on our patterns all the time to continue what we have done in the last year.
“When you see what we are working on now compared to one year ago it is on another level. Everything is clearer and everybody understands things more so now it’s about details –getting the details right- so we can improve from last season.”
The inclusion of six academy players was a welcome addition for Deila, as he hailed how seamlessly the group have transitioned into the first-team picture.
“We have a good group, it’s a good culture here so we take care of each other,” he said. “They are some talented young boys, they are very young, but it’s nice to have them here.
“It just shows me we have a lot of talent in New York and I’m looking forward to working with them so they can get into the first-team.”
Preseason Key Dates:
- March 8 – Depart for Orlando, Florida
- March 13 – Friendly vs Chicago Fire FC
- March 18 – Friendly vs Orlando City SC
- March 18 – Depart for St. Petersburg, Florida
- March 24 – Friendly vs TBA
- March 27 – Friendly vs Nashville SC
- March 27 – Depart for New York
- April 4 – Friendly vs TBA
- April 10 – Friendly vs TBA
