NEW YORK RED BULLS MEDIA CONFERENCE

September 28, 2024

Sandro Schwarz

Press Conference

NYC FC 5, NY Red Bulls 1

Q. Tough result, this might feel like rock bottom for you and the players in the locker room. Talk about how you get back up from this result and finish off the season strong?

SANDRO SCHWARZ: Yeah, I would say, and I said this in the locker rooms, and I agree, tough result, especially then after seven, eight minutes with these individual mistakes, and then we came back and then directly after, after we scored, then we concede directly with ten players, then the third goal, and was tough. Tough game today.

I think now it's a good point that we have the next game in four days and not to wait for seven or eight days.

And so this is what we have to analyze tomorrow, the situation, not the game to be honest because this was a lot of individual mistakes; the situation, how we can solve our situation and then to give the reaction then on the field on Wednesday in Toronto.

Q. With this team, you constantly employ 4-4-2. You've been doing it for months, and with how the results have been going, I'm just curious if there's been any talk about changing out of the 4-4-2, which is playing like a 4-2-2-2. With how many injuries there were tonight, was there any talk about changing that? And in the Supporter Section around the 65th minute they started raising a banner saying, "I'm not good enough." Is that something that you're going to emphasize with or take going into the locker room or going into the next game?

SANDRO SCHWARZ: For sure, all the Supporters, the whole club for me as the head coach, the whole team, we are very disappointed for sure about the result, about the mistakes, about the behavior because it's a derby and then when we lost 5-1, then for sure we are very angry about that.

But in my opinion, and this is also very clear, it's not the topic about the structure or something like that.

So when you make these mistakes you can play with three center backs, you can play with diamond or something like that. It's not the kind of structure what we see, and this is true what we see; that we didn't get the results over the last weeks, and you see then, also, the result when you concede against a very good team today after 30 minutes, two goals. This was -- the reaction after that was good. But then with the third goal which we concede was not good enough.

For sure, we are very disappointed and I can understand also the Supporters. It's very important today, we lost today a big game, for sure, a big game and the derby, but we didn't lose the whole season or something like that. This is also very important for the whole club, and also important for us as a team, and also for the Supporters.

Q. What do you attribute the lack of concentration on the early first two goals to, since it seemed like there were mistakes in passing and overall concentration?

SANDRO SCHWARZ: Yeah, I'm not sure if it's concentration or something. So this is a wrong decision in that moment, and this decision, our build up, or after the set pieces, then we play backwards in these moments par but I don't want to talk now about single players or something like that. So this is what we have to react now, our reaction with the whole team, and this is important now, and we have the chance.

And I know today, it's not now the best day to give directly answer then, and so we have to do is give the answer on Wednesday in the game in Toronto.

This was for sure big mistakes but at the end, the whole team, so this is what we have to do better for Wednesday, and not only think about okay, for Carlos or something like that.

Danny, he showed the last weeks very good performance, especially the last week, the home game against Atlanta. Carlos made very good games for us, for the club, for the whole team, and today was not the best day. This is what I said, for sure, it's very angry, very disappointed for all of us, for Carlos, for Danny and for all these guys in the locker room. But this is what we have to handle.

And this is what I said; I feel it. I feel it for sure, it's a tough result, and it's not the best feeling today, for sure. But we lost a big game in our stadium. But we didn't lose the whole season or something like that.

Q. What have you seen from Forsberg in the last 36 hours to come to the decision to have him come off the bench tonight?

SANDRO SCHWARZ: This was the plan, also, that he's able to play today 25, 30 minutes.

And yeah, you can see in these moments, especially in our offense, that he's able with his quality to play the final pass, and he had a lot of good moments and is also much easier then to come off the 4-1 to come in after this long-term injury.

But this is the quality which we need then, also, and also this behavior as a leadership.

Q. Tough result. Just wanted to ask you on not just the goals early on because we could chalk it up to mistakes, but the tactical approach from NYC FC, was it a surprise that they were almost trying to play the Red Bull style of play with attacking the back line?

SANDRO SCHWARZ: Yeah, it seems then. For sure it seems when you score after seven minutes, for sure, New York City, they have then the self-confidence with these moments, and they have the game now on their side.

But yeah, at the end, they pressed in 4-4-2, and then also sometimes with the winger, players are in higher position. They did it also in the last games to be honest.

But we didn't find our solutions, and especially then after seven, eight minutes, these mistakes, and you lose the self-confidence for sure in this big game with a young group, and this is what we have to improve for sure, then, also, for Wednesday.

Q. First of all, I don't know if it was discussed during the week, but a win tonight would have clinched a playoff spot. Do you feel like maybe there was a little bit of pressure and the players were feeling it; that that contributed to the poor start? And also, you talked about obviously the anger and how you feel after a result like this. Do you feel like you can use that as fuel going into these next two road matches starting on Wednesday against Toronto?

SANDRO SCHWARZ: Yeah, for the second question, the answer, this is what we have to do, then, to show the reaction and our behavior. Also, to play very clear, very clean in some moments.

The first question, it seems -- to be honest, it seems a little bit that we have this situation now for qualification, the playoffs and to make this last step now, and these moments, it's very difficult for us to make this last step, this big step.

And we had today, yeah, for sure, a big opportunity to make this big step.

But this is what we have to handle it now for this week, and on Wednesday is the next game to have this focus, this is very important.

Q. Obviously the first two goals kind of set the stage for the game. So I don't want to focus too much on this game because I feel like it kind of is in the rear-view mirror for you. But the formula overall, since the 3-1 win over Cincinnati, it seems like the team has regressed since that period of the season. What has gone wrong? Is it the changing of players? People being out for Olympics? International? What has happened where you've seen that regression and players don't seem to be knowing where to go or be on the same page?

SANDRO SCHWARZ: Yeah, I don't want to talk now about the reasons with the national team and all these kinds, and for sure, this is a new situation for us. Now, with this young team now, to handle it.

Yeah, it seems like our last win was against Cincinnati, this home game against Cincinnati before Leagues Cup and then Leagues Cup starts. For sure, now when you see only the results, you see clear the results, too many draws, and also today, to lose this game, then you lost in Chicago, home game against Philadelphia, and we missed the points.

In the whole situation, we missed more the points in our draws which we played too much.

This is now when you see the big picture now, then these points, you missed. And today was a bad, bad day for all of us with our mistakes.

Q. Last week against Atlanta, you talked a lot about mentality, the team, especially coming from behind and able to equalize the game late in the game. Curious, what was the mentality for tonight's match, and especially not the result you wanted, what was the team's mentality tonight?

SANDRO SCHWARZ: Yeah, the mentality didn't change now after this game to be honest, to the last weekend.

It's not the topic of mentality today for me. Because after 2-0, we tried. We scored. So then you concede directly the third goal, and then the fourth goal was also not good enough in our box defending.

But I can't say, and I don't say, that we don't show the right mentality. That's too easy. For me, that's too easy, also, in this game. Because this is tough: Supporters, big game, derby. And when you then concede directly the second goal, and then especially the third goal; and for me, also, the second half, the guys on our team, they tried. They tried to score, then, also, and maybe to make this 4-2.

For me, it's not the mentality in the game. For me, it's more to handle situation now, the pressure.

So I agree about the pressure, how we feel in some moments now, before the game maybe, big games like this. And this is what we have to handle and what we have to develop then, also, for our next step.