Vancouver Whitecaps FC introduced head coach Carl Robinson to media on Monday morning at the Hyatt Regency Vancouver. Watch the full media conference in the window above and read some of his comments below.
On being named head coach:
“It’s a very proud moment for me to be sat here today. It’s something that I’ve always dreamed of doing. It’s the natural progression for me in my career. First of all, I’d like to thank the club and the ownership group for putting their faith in me. It’s a task that I’m looking forward to. I know I’m going to face this challenge head on. There will be hard work along the way, but I’m up for the challenge.”
On his relationship with players and if that might change now that he’s the one making decisions:
“I think it will change … what won’t change is my honesty towards them, the way I act towards them and my day-to-day dealings with them. The respect I’ve gained from the players is because I am who I am and that won’t change. It’s important you talk to the players, make them understand why they’re not playing [and] what they can do to make sure they can get into the team. And that’s what I’ll continue to do.”
On what style his team will play:
“As Bobby eluded to, I like to pass the ball, I like to move the ball. That will be shown in my team. I want good footballers in my team and we’ve got a number of good footballers in our team, young and older players. It’s important that you use them to best of their abilities. It’s going to be attacking brand. I want to attack and I want to score goals.”
On the coach search:
“It’s been a long process, but it’s been a very, very valuable process for me. I’m a young coach and I’m learning. What the procedure has allowed us to do is to get know each other a lot better. I was kept in the loop all the way along with decisions and things like that. Initially, you mentioned there candidates’ names, I was actually privileged to be in contention with people like Bob Bradley and the other candidates. I take that as a positive that the club see me in that esteem. Thankfully I’m the one that sat here today.”
On his objectives for the upcoming season:
“You mentioned the playoffs and the Canadian Championship, that’s a must for the club every year. That must be our goal. We have fantastic quality in our squad. The team will develop a lot more. Our style of play will change … we will play more attacking soccer.”
On the status of Jay DeMerit:
“I’ll be touching base with Jay in the next two days. He’s an important piece of the club going forward and he’s a total leader on and off the field. It’s important going forward that’ll I’ll be making key decisions, and Jay’s a key decision. He’s someone I’d like to bring back.”
On the makeup of the current roster:
“Everyone knows we have fantastic youngsters … my job is to unlock the potential of those youngsters. We got a talented group of youngsters and we’ve also got a strong core of experienced players. Do we need to make additions? Yes we do. Are we taking the necessary procedures to bring them in? Yes we are. There are areas we need to strengthen. Obviously, Y.P. retiring leaves a hole right away, as well as goals from the midfield, which I need to address.”
On his gameday attire:
“What do you think I should wear? (laughs) Yes, I’ll be wearing a suit, with variations to it. I’d love to be out there playing with them, as it’s our team. I’ll be out there standing as close to the pitch as I can, but I’ll probably look a little bit smarter than I usually do with my tracksuit, hat and a stop watch.”
On Darren Mattocks:
“Darren’s a fantastic individual; he’s got fantastic attributes as a player. Off the field, maybe he’s been misquoted once or twice. I know Darren’s a fantastic footballer; I know what makes Darren tick and what doesn’t make Darren tick. Come the first day of training camp, I’ll be hard on Darren. He wants to reach for the stars and I want to help him get to the stars.”
