Real Salt Lake made a big change on Monday in dismissing Head Coach Jeff Cassar after an 0-2-1 start. On Tuesday, the club began the quick process of turning the page and starting anew under Interim Head Coach Daryl Shore, as a matchup with the New York Red Bulls on Saturday awaits.
“We’re going to continue to get better and try to improve and get some wins,” RSL captain Kyle Beckerman told the media on Tuesday. “That’s all everyone is focused on – get a win and get the season how we want it.”
Shore led training in Sandy on Tuesday and Wednesday, while Real Monarchs goalkeeper coach Matt Glaeser helped out with Matt VanOekel and Lalo Fernandez as stalwart starter Nick Rimando is among several RSL players unavailable for Saturday’s match due to international duty, injury or suspension. After a travel day on Thursday, RSL will hold one more training session Friday in New Jersey before facing the Red Bulls at Red Bull Arena.
The quick turnaround and cross-country flight may make things difficult for Shore in terms of making significant adjustments, but he knows that those hurdles can be overcome with the right focus.
“We really don’t have time to tweak a lot of things. I felt like we were very good against LA for the first 45 minutes. Unfortunate situations happened and we had to deal with what we had to deal with in the second half and unfortunately weren’t able to finish out the game,” he said. “We have to turn our concentration now to New York.”
Although the move to change coaches came as a shock to the players, their focus shifted quickly to the task ahead against New York and beyond as RSL looks to get some results and build momentum, regardless of who takes over coaching duties.
“I trust Daryl. I trust the way he can manage men. I trust in our front office to go out there and find the right person,” said defender Tony Beltran, who is in his 10th season with RSL. “I hate to put it bluntly, but our job doesn’t change. We still have to try to win, no matter who’s in charge.”
Added Beckerman, who will miss the match Saturday due to suspension, “We have a ton left of the season. There’s no reason for us to panic at all. There’s a lot out there for us and as we saw last year and the year before, teams that have gotten out to a tough start have been able to turn it around. That’s what we expect to do.”
Saturday’s match will be televised locally on KMYU and nationally on Unimas. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. MT.
