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CHICAGO FIRE MEDIA CONFERENCE

April 21, 2018

Veljko Paunovic

Harrison, New Jersey

NY Red Bulls - 1, Chicago Fire - 2

Q. A bit different than against L.A.?
VELJKO PAUNOVIC: Yeah, completely.

Q. Can you talk about the importance of this match, bouncing back from the L.A. match, and maybe not the prettiest match you guys have had but effective?
VELJKO PAUNOVIC: Yeah, definitely very important win for us. Very proud of the guys and the job they did. We stick to our plan and we adjusted every time Red Bulls changed. So fantastic reaction. Fantastic win, and especially after the sloppy start we had this season, I think this win helps us to boost our confidence, to build on top of this, and face the next phase of the season with a different -- different perspective.

Q. Looked like you were willing to sit back and absorb. Was there anything you saw in the Champions League against the Red Bulls that gave you that philosophy?
VELJKO PAUNOVIC: I think it's very important that more than the opponent -- it's more important that they not necessarily create or counter for your opponents. I think that's what we created today. I think we surprised them with our setup. Also with our offensive alternatives we had, and that's something that especially in the first half, it was a surprise for them.

So I think that's -- you know, it's important that you have a plan. It's important that you know what you want to do and it's important that you play according to the plan and try to stick even when in the moment that it's not working. That's why I'm very proud of the guys. They showed me today they can mature, mature soccer. Tactics; they can put the heart there and also use the brain. Ultimately when you have to execute, I think we were sharp. So very proud, again. Very important, and we move forward.

Q. Compared to last year's hot start, what do you think accounts for this year's relatively slow start?
VELJKO PAUNOVIC: I think we had some late additions -- I actually don't want to give any excuses. The point is there are a lot of circumstances that you have to deal with during the new season and during the preseason.

We didn't have good circumstances but then we lost the confidence because of that start and we need to really grind and work hard to get back -- to actually have the opportunity like we had today, to play against one of the best teams in the League, play in a discipline manner and be very consistent with our plan, and then, you know, we had a prize that we won the game, difficult game.

It was very hard, really, but at the end, these are the moments that you are looking for and I think we have -- we have a very, very good situation now where we can start building the next win streak that we are looking for.

Q. When you have a slow start like this, how important is it to have veterans in the locker room?
VELJKO PAUNOVIC: It's very important, yeah. There's a huge importance because they are the ones that will either kill you or either help you. In our case, it's the second thing. They are calm. They are experienced. They know that we are working towards the solutions and that's very important. That's very important that you can rely on, not only the veteran players, but they are good guys.

Q. A couple strong performances, your goalkeeper, Mo Adams. What do you have to say about that?
VELJKO PAUNOVIC: When the team works like we played today, when the team works together, you know, you can always see the qualities in individual players and you will see always that somebody stood out.

Today, we had, you mentioned some of them, but for me, I saw many more. I actually saw everyone from the first one from Richard till the last one in the game from Johnny Campbell. That mentality and that team spirit that we had, it was shown today. It was excelled and I think that's -- that's what we need. That's what we have to keep doing.

Q. Can you talk about the performance of Richard?
VELJKO PAUNOVIC: I think he's growing, same as the team. I think actually he's following the pace, or as he's growing, the team is growing, too. It's very important, the position of the goalkeeper. It's something that gives the team confidence. It gives security at the back line, and, you know, just the organization.

As he is growing, the team is getting better, too. It goes together. It's important but we have also to know that we still have a long way to go and we have to still keep building, we still have to get better, but we have to improve in our performance overall, and that means that every single player, every single one in our coaching staff has to get better.

Q. You're a team that's known for getting physical with opponents. How important was it for you to win the physical battle today?
VELJKO PAUNOVIC: It's very important. As I said, the team is growing. The team is learning to play against different opponents, and this is for us a huge step forward because we played against, as I said before, one of the best teams in the League; the team that is very well known for a great attacking style, and also very physical, very physical in terms of they cover a lot of ground. They have very sharp, very narrow style, and you have to match that. I think that was very important for us, and winning the playoff team, the second playoff team this year, no matter how sloppy was our start, it's actually another positive that we can add.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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