Dean Smith addresses the media as Charlotte FC hits the road to face Chicago Fire FC this Wednesday. Smith reiterates when the younger players are ready to step on the pitch, age is not something he factors into his decisions to play them. He believes attitude is the most important aspect of bringing a player to the next level. With a midweek match, Smith also talks about the recovery and scheduling process to make sure he performs their best with a back-to-back schedule.
Cool well you got any change in Availability from the weekend no uh Pretty much the same Bill's trained with Us uh today but tomorrow will probably Come too quickly for him to to travel With us um Ben Bender's going to get 45 Minutes with the legacy on Wednesday Night Um yeah and Uh uh Le alabad you know looking good as Well hopefully we'll get him for the Union game is it Philly pH yeah rather Than Red Bull yeah oh so it's more more Ambitious yes yeah so that that was Pleasing that's good um no update on Enzo's departure no not not yet no um The Tactical switch you talked about Postgame with verono how satisfying was It to kind of see that change of shape Take place and know that you can play a Grittier game than maybe you had seen in The past I I believe that we could do it we we' Done it we' done it in the second half At Nashville we' done it preseason when We played against Galaxy as well um you Know we just I think it's something that We can actually go to and gives us uh Another option um you know we they Scored two good goals from crosses in Nashville and I didn't want to give them The opportunity um to get balls into the Box from wide areas so we showed them Inside and I thought the lad really
Worked well and adapted well to the Change in terms of Chicago how they Looked to you um I've just been watching A little bit of of clips of them now um It would be a tough game U as everybody Keeps telling me it's tough on the road But uh you know hopefully we can put a Change to that but it's going to be Another tough game um you know they Having a I think they got beat the Weekend so a bit of a tough time for Them but you know we have to concentrate On ourselves really people ask me cuz I I come across a lot of people who are Not soccer efficient Autos a lot of Times and they ask me why is the split So different Home Road what do you think is behind that is A self-filling prophecy or or what do You think Mentality I I believe some people before They even leave have you know have Accepted that it's going to be tougher And the only reason it's tougher is cuz You that's in your head um yeah yeah You've got to travel you haven't got Your home fans and the Home Advantage But the pitches are normally the same Size and you know you still got to get Into their box and scored a goal and They've got to get in yours and you've Got to defend your box um and I don't Believe you know the there is too much In it apart from you know the Home
Advantage is you got your fans behind You and you've got home Comforts but um We we should have had more points on the Road our performances have merited more Points um but but we we've we've not Taken chances on the road so far Andrew Priv came here as a Midfielder became a center back a year Ago he's a new manager did you always Think of him as someone who could stay At Center back or did you kind of tinker And maybe toil with him maybe playing Somewhere else no I came and watched the Games last season and I thought he would Be a center back when I came here he's Got the physical build I think he reads The game really well he's good on the Ball as well and he's he's improved his His heading ability as well um so I Thought he would make that we've we've Given him a couple of tryouts in in Midfield during preseason um but I think He's a he says Center back first and a a SI Second Steve yeah following up on that With the college kids and granted this Is your first season here so haven't Dealt with that a lot but you've seen it Through your your son's Progression is there a timetable for Moving cuz every level of the game you Go up fast stronger harder is there a Timetable for I mean youve got a couple You got some young players like like
Andrew and stuff and now Patrick and and Others uh Brandon when he was playing That have come like straight out of College and been been been contributors And stuff are they ahead of schedule or Is this a norm or is it an MLs thing I Think it's probably an MLs thing or or Us thing because you know you're you're Probably getting players making their Debuts certainly in the European leagues At the age of 18 19 20 um here because Of the college system it probably gets You know 22 23 um so they're probably Making the debuts a little bit later but You you can see from from Patrick's Progression so far you know if they're Ready then they're ready and I think at The age of 22 23 they should be ready um You know um and I have no quals putting Them in you know if I if I think they're Ready Andrew privet certainly looks like It was he he was a draft pick yeah yeah You know Patrick draft pick um tiger Smalls has had minutes recently draft Pick as well you know so if they're Ready I think they should be ready Coming out of college uh what they have To adapt to is the day in day out you Know uh mentality of professional um Football I suppose and you know that's Our job to get them ready for that and And granted that's the difference when You're in college you also Being a student is supposed to be a
Primary thing but do you feel like the Level of the college game is giving them Enough of the Technical Training and uh Just repetition to be professional Athletes I think he does I suppose what It also gives you as well because They've been students they've been used To being in a classroom so they should Be students at the game as well um you Know so when we come in this Learning Zone and we're reviewing or or or Previewing a a fixture you know I expect Them to be part of the vocal thing of What they see and what they don't see And because they're recently out of College it's actually not as new to them As somebody who may be not used to that That way of of how I coach and and see The game thank you no worries you got One um is he someone you have in mind to Start Wednesday since he didn't start Saturday he'll be in mind to start along With 18 over Outfield [Laughter] Players okay um I also had a question um About the off field treatment rule um This weekend you know Messi was upset And said you know with this type rule We're going in the wrong direction and I Know you kind of echoed a little bit About your sentiments when we first Talked about now seeing these uh rules Implemented for a couple of games has Your uh stance changed
Do you still agree that they're heading In the wrong direction with yeah my Stance hasn't changed I may my my Thoughts on the subjects you know we Concede a goal against New York and we Have to have a player then go off the Pitch because he had treatment during Their Celebrations uh of the goal and he has To go off the pitch for the next two Minutes I I don't understand that rule Why should then the team have that Advantage um you know we made the most Of the advantage on Sardi uh Nashville Had only 10 10 men on the pitch when we Scored the goal um I don't see why we Should have that Advantage when somebody Gets injured they're not looking to gain An advantage by being down on the on the Floor I I felt it was always you know Down to referees and for them to manage The games and I think it's become Difficult for them to manage it um you Know with players having to to go off Now and you know but there's no big big Of voice in the M less than than L Messi I would have Thought and then my last one is more on A couple of times during the season You've mentioned you know a little bit I Don't want to call it emotional Stability but you know you get a sense That sometimes your players are down and That's something that you've mentioned
That you've worked on is that something That you've seen improve over these last Couple of weeks yeah yeah it has um you Know I don't want you know we had it Against Minnesota where a goal changed Our mentality and it shouldn't do Um you know because both teams are Trying to do that in a game that's you Know what the game is about but you know It shouldn't change your mentality when That happens so it's about having Emotional control and you know making Sure we don't make the same mistakes and Uh yeah we're getting better you know We've we've got some young players we've In the squad you know we've got a young Center back pairing for instance um you Know we last week against Portland we Had you know Crown legacies like you Know uh front line in terms of niiko Pekovic and and um Paddy playing up Front so luckily we've got a good Mixture you we got Ashley Westwoods Nathan Burns um you know with with the The experience that can help the younger Players as well so you know it's really Important that they keep learning and And have that emotional Control one more from me um I asked Patrick Saturday it seems like a lot of Like Willie mentioned like the dra iics Are coming in and you know there's a Certain mentality that they have right You've got Patrick playing Andrew priv
Um what if you notice particularly from These guys like what are some of the Common traits that you see them that They're able to just get into the team So quickly and make a difference I think What you've seen from the two of them so Far is consistency you know in their Performance and that's a big thing um Good Learners as well as I said before Coming out of college um you know and They want to get better I think I Suppose they feel a kind of pressure Being a draft pick as well that you know They want to go and do well and um you Know our job is to to give them that Platform thank you cheers do a follow up Yeah going back to the the whole timing Issue with that I mean for years soccer Has been unique in its fact that the ref Center ref has his watch and they do That now they calculate the added time Things like that would it be better for The sport to evolve to a hard clock Where they just stop the clock when There's time wasting and even doing it When players on the field because it's Always been it should never actually be An issue because you know you know Whether players hurt on the field or off The field because the referee can always Add time but should would a hard clock Be better for the sport at this time I Don't think so uh personally I think That's what a fourth official's for
They're not actually involved in the in The play um they're giving some advice To to the officials who are involved in The game um but their job should be able To you know stop and stop and watch and Start it again and tell tell the Officials how how long they they believe Should be left are they consistent in Doing that you know for some games like When a goalkeeper holding the ball for 30 seconds or more and things like that And rules have been set up where that Should be policed but it's not they're All set they're all set up to be policed Now aren't they they're all up so I I Think that's down to them and we have to Allow you know the officials who are in Charge to control the game that that's My belief um you know rather than you Know try we're brought in a new rule This season that you know we'll see at The end of the season if it's if it's Been a success at not or not I made my Feelings at the start of the Season you Know on it um you know but I think with V as well you we've probably taken a lot Of a lot of control off the the onfield Officials now and a lot of their feel And touch um which is probably going in The wrong direction V was brought in for Clear and obvious errors um you know and We probably need to go back to that Sometime yes the human part Of yeah
Yeah um your your game plan to come back Wednesday night and have the guys do Their regen I guess you call it here I'm Learning is this something you did in England um Except maybe weren't getting home at 1: A.m. I mean you are you be out here at 3:00 a.m. watching them practice or How's this going to go yeah no it is Something I've done before in the UK um And and yeah yeah we were getting back At 1 and 2:00 in the morning sometimes As well so you know it's um it's one of Them where you have to weigh up and do You get back and let them all go home And then you get them in later at 1:00 In the afternoon yet some of them got Kids and we still be up at 8:00 and you You've disrupted their sleep anyway so It was for me you know what's the happy Meeting what's the best plan for it and And for me it's you know get them back Do their regen get the the ones who've Started through the uh the the bathing Contrast um get a massage and the ones Who haven't played get the workout done And then get them back home and they've Got the rest of the day to themselves Then will that be only if there's a Midweek game or will that be everywhere No that's only when there's a midweek Game yeah okay sleep Here there's a lot there's a lot of Sleeping pods that over clubs obviously
Have been to um lesser have them so Obviously you can go back and then They're in the in the room straight away But um it's just a part of the game Because players need recovery from Midweek games to play again on the Saturday and sleep is the best recovery You can get they probably preer Practicing in the middle of the night on A hot summmer day you know as that goes Anyway yeah 1 1M You're probably right yeah um another Kind of off the field question um Alicia F as your nutritionist have you been Have you she taught you anything new About how American approached nutrition And team relationship or I Think probably like us coaches you you Have coaches associations throughout the World so you'd always seen different Parts of the world and what they do and Nutritionists will be the same um you Know I had a Irish guy who was at Villa And um you know we who' come from a Different sport come from Rugby Union um You know so there's different people and Yeah so it's been interesting with Alicia how how she does it she's got a Real good respect from the players um You know and she'll send her report Through to me every every now and again And and they're body fat so I'm checking Up on them all the time so yeah he's He's pretty good and she's really good
At her job I think she needs help with The vegetables can you help her with That we we've got the beatroot now so we We're all right the Irish guy was Guinness part of the nutrition yeah Guinness and [Laughter] Spuds you you kind of touched on it with The touched on it last week about having The three- game week and you've touched On you know is that is the the recovery Seems to be the biggest hurdle in in a Stretch of games like this yeah I mean That you're not going to get time on the Pitch to go through uh as indepth anal Is on the opposition as you would Normally um you know so it's that that's The time when you just need recovery Strategies and you know uh you you're Giving some trust to the players as well But we're working with them as well it's Just like a normal day in terms of you Know we control two of the meals that They have you know uh by what they put Out for them and then you're trusting Them with what they eat uh in their Third midle of the day so you know uh People like Alysia he's he's coaching Them and educating them on what are the Right things to do and we've got a good Performance team here who you know Helping them to recover and giving them Good recovery strategies as well with The Enzo situation how are you feeling
With your group that you have between Now and and the July window in terms of Finding offense and because it's Obviously every team's goal is to make Sure you got enough yeah no what I'm Good I'm good with where we are I'm good With where the players are you know We've had a few little injuries um Throughout the first 12 games already You know a couple of H hamstring Injuries calf injuries here and there um But we're starting to get back to you Know hopefully next week having a full Full Squad to train with and as as far As goal scoring I mean that's obviously Every team wants and needs that and and Enzo was a portion of that you how do You do you have the Personnel that you Want in place or are you kind no I I Believe we you know if it was going to Affect us we if if Enzo ends up leaving I wouldn't have allowed that to happen Um you know but we were we're all in Agreement that if if it does happen it Would be the right thing for the club You touched on the uh the young players That you're working with Between the big Club Crown Legacy guys That are up and back up and back what Makes a good Pro in your in your eyes And do you have the right kind of guys To help these young young kids learn What it means to be a well there's only One word I always put to a good Pro its
Attitude that's the F it's the first Thing if you got a good attitude then You got a good chance um because they Won't be drafted or scouted and brought In and recruited by the club if they're Not good players um but the thing that Takes them to the next level is the Attitude um so that's the biggest thing That we want to see from them and the Veterans that you got that you have here And even with Christian kind of you know Helping are those guys good handh not Handh holders but you know you know good Role Models um good standard bearers as Well in terms of what what we want in Terms of our standards here uh so They're the ones that can you know drive Drive the younger players as Well have a follow if Bender's able to Go 45 minutes Wednesday night it all Goes well would he come back you know And maybe like what's his next step oh His next step will be probably we'll try And arrange another game um here at the Training center and uh you know get him Some more minutes in that maybe 65 70 Minutes uh and then keep keep Progressing from them because he's been Out a long time you don't want to give Him 45 and then jump him into a first Team game straight away and there's too Much of a risk of injury or Reinjury how much of a problem is it for A guy like Ben who's been up for so long
Because I can only imagine he's anxious To get back he's very anxious yeah um You know he's uh he's obviously very Keen to get back cuz he's a real Keen Baker and he bought me a a nice loaf of Bread Last week yeah so um and it was it was Very tasty as [Music] Well he catches his own fish apparently He catches fish as well I've been told That as well yeah another young player Who seen some more time what do you Think the next step is for Tiger Smalls um just to keep progressing the Way he is I've really liked what I'm Seeing at the moment I think he's coming On and might having an impact when he's Come on so far you know he could have Scored against New York City he's done Well last week against Portland I Thought he did he did really well in Helping us see out the game on on Saturday um you know won a free kick on The edge of the box in the in the last Couple of minutes Um got got caution but it was probably a Good caution you know because he delayed A a quick attack after MTAR caught the Ball and the fre kick not been given but Apart from that apart from that it was Really clever from him so um he's uh Yeah he's a boy who who's got an awful Lot of potential that I'm excited to
Work with to be honest and one other Player I want to at least ask you about With crown Legacy U Aaron John has been Really progressing well and and getting Some good moments how much of that is on Your radar and how much have you been Able to kind of absorb what he's been Doing since he's obviously you know big In the academy and really contributing Now yeah know he's popped up with some Really really good important goals um For the Legacy as well so he's been Doing well and improving um and I've Made it to all the home games I've could I could so far um so you know I've just Had a sit down with Jose then talking About their game and our game Wednesday And where we can you know where players Can go so we're working well as a you Know as a a single entity at the moment Which is which is only good for us cool I got Sam Spencer on the Zoom hios how are you doing I'm good Thanks Samu Yeah good compl um so first question um Andrew pret was just named uh to the MLS Team of the match day obviously you had A lot of good things to say about him Tonight and after the match but um care Care to add any comments on him you know Being On yeah well it doesn't surprise me Because I thought he was excellent on Saturday um put in a really good
Performance um kept their two DPS up Front really really quiet him and adal I Think they're making a really good Partnership at the moment so yeah There's um lots of improvements we've Seen um and he's a No Nonsense player Who just gets on with his job he's very Low maintenance uh for me wants to keep Improving so yeah um you he can be Pleased with his uh his performance this Week last Weekend and then uh more on Wednesday's Match in Chicago um what do you think The the keys are to the match and Charlotte being able to um improve its Road record I know um you you frequently Said including today um you think the Team has deserved more points on the Road um what do you think that uh you Can bring on one they close well I think He's got to be our performance levels um I think our last two performances have Been good um and I would go back again And say New York our performance levels We didn't certainly didn't deserve to Lose that game I thought we counter Pressed really well well um create some Really good opportunities defended well When we needed to uh we need more of the Same but obviously take our chances when They come along uh but it's a mentality Again you know consistency of Performance will get you the result