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NEW YORK RED BULLS MEDIA CONFERENCE

June 1, 2019

Chris Armas

Harrison, New Jersey

NY Red Bulls - 4, Real Salt Lake - 0

Q. What did you see into this game that he was ready to go?
CHRIS ARMAS: Yeah, we're always mindful when guys are carrying little knocks or soft tissue concerns. So that's where the problem comes from. Goes from one level to the based on -- we get all the information from the doctors and the medical staff and the players. There was no real concern with him coming in. Didn't want to come out, of course. He had a great game.

Q. The approach where there were opportunities early with Danny, the first 30 minutes and start of the second half. Seemed like it was almost like it was going to happen, and then you had that avalanche of goals in that six-minute span. Did you like that continued progression throughout the game?
CHRIS ARMAS: Yeah, it's much of what we spoke about at halftime, and what -- coming into the game, we thought it could look like that. We'll have the ball. We're prepared to have the ball, and in our training sessions and the way we mapped out the beak but always when you have the ball -- when you lose the ball, that sets up the competition's strength.

So in the first half, we did have a feeling that the goal was coming. You could see it. Guys were getting good stops on the field. Like there's moments we could come down on the first half or show up but we don't want that to creep in too much where it becomes a pass-around. We still wanted to be aggressive. We had a lot of guys running around their back line and we had a lot of guys still looking forward, and then you just have to talk about, all right, what does that mean now -- the counter-pressing, controlling space, be ready for those.

The belief was there at halftime. The energy was right, a couple little adjustments, and it was fun to watch the guys have fun.

Q. When your team scores three goals in ten minutes, what does that do for the team's confidence, especially considering that the goals came from a variety of players?
CHRIS ARMAS: Well, listen, I think the story continues. This team is a real team and they stick together and they play for each other. They run for each other, and this has been building. I mentioned it recently. The Atlanta game wasn't a starting point, we said. It was a result of guys putting in a lot, and all of us doing a lot, right. That's what it was.

So now you see a team that we think looks much like us to start the game and control the game in the ways that we want it to, but of course, I mean, I think we all know that goals do a lot for a team. They do a lot for the belief that you can play a little more free. Confidence grows. You start seeing the balls look around a bit more. Guys committing numbers, and again, that's fun to be part of when you're out there, and from the sideline, from us, the spectators, the supporters, that's a lot of fun to watch.

So it does a lot for the team. It's the best part of the game. The goalkeepers, 100-yards -- celebrate, it's the best part of the game.

Q. Obviously for you, it's a little different than for supporters, but a long-time coach, on top of that, Jesse in the crowd; you're focused on the game, but can you take a step back now at the result? What was it like for you to be in this atmosphere with obviously Mike and also Jesse?
CHRIS ARMAS: It's always -- a few times a year I get to see Mike, it's good. We go way back as youth soccer players on Long Island. I think we are both proud of each other, the careers we had as players and now as coaches. That's the exchange we had, and I think that will remain the same. So it's always good to see him, and it's home for him, New York, this building, people that we respect -- who he is and the work he's done. It's good to see him.

With Jesse being in the building, when I saw him before, it's not -- it's almost emotional, seeing him back here. Because I know he's -- I'm watching him, the work that he did this year. I've known him for a long time. It's a real reflection on him, the person that he is, the soccer person that he is, to go over there and help RB Leipzig to a Cup final, and I know he was a big part of that. There's no doubt about it.

So yes, for me, it was extra special because Jesse was here. Just having him here, getting to see up close the work that we're doing; that he can feel so part of that and proud of that, I think he has to feel good about that.

So yeah, for me, that made this night a little extra special for me. To get the three points, at home, to do it the way we did it, in a convincing manner, probably our most complete performance of the year in front of -- reward our spectators and our supporters, to reward the entire team, the staff, the players, the extended staff. They have put so much work into this, and of course, Jesse is part of that.

Q. Can you give us -- Sean really running things tonight --
CHRIS ARMAS: Look, you mentioned Kaku before, the work he put in tonight up the field in 90 minutes, he loves to create goals. He can score but he loves that pass, the final pass. You can see that he sees things very early. Sometimes we say, just calm down because not everyone thinks that fast.

He's really comfortable. You can see that he's growing with the team and in our league and we see the special qualities that he is. He's a starting player on the field, right, and then in the central part, you see that Sean -- they mean so much to the team, not just that they understand the position, but the second goal. They are moving with the game. Setting the tempo on the ball. Moving up the pitch is important. It just helps the counter-press, the connectiveness.

In the second half, I think we saw right away one of the adjustments, getting them on the ball a little more. The little stop in the midfield, they were flattening out a little bit and that started the unlocking and then there was just big spaces in the middle of the field the way they were pushing up and defending and that was one of the points of emphasis.

We thought that those guys on the ball, dictating the play on the two quarterbacks, and they did a really nice job.

Q. Do you think having --
CHRIS ARMAS: I don't think so, no. We saw -- the same thing we saw in the first half we saw in the second half; that as they were stepping up, their ten, let's say, looks like two strikers, and by Kaku staying really high occupies their two sixes. It's just a big space. At halftime, we looked at that. We just knew that, listen, guys, it's not a whole lot to change here, but there's a few things that we can improve on, plan for when things turn over, just to keep things tidy in their end, and if we are going to have the ball, we can talk some tactics.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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