Clint Peay Grateful For Opportunity to Lead 1st Team
Clint Peay Grateful For Opportunity to Lead 1st Team
"I have no control of the future, so [I] live every moment in the present. That’s all I can do.”
New England Revolution interim head coach Clint Peay is preparing for his first match as the commander on the touchline for the first team and his focus doesn’t extend too far past that.
In the span of a month, Peay has gone from Revs II head coach to first-team assistant coach to now being named interim head coach for the first team on Tuesday.
“I’m here for the club, first and foremost,” Peay stated. “I’ve enjoyed my time with Revs II. It’s a great group to work with and when I was asked to join [the first team], I think it was a way to help the club and do my part to help in this moment.”
Peay has over 20 years of coaching experience to his name. He has compiled a 34-36-16 record over four seasons as Head Coach of Revolution II.
The Blazing Musket attended training on Thursday and overall Peay displayed leadership and a hands-on approach during the portion of training that media was allowed to observe.
Peay’s message to the squad was a simple one when he first talked to the team after being named interim head coach. The 49-year-old just wants to help players improve and hopefully win some championships.
“My message simply was that I’m here to help you get better as players,” Peay said when asked by The Blazing Musket what his message to the players was. “I’m here to help grow the team and continue the mission of moving towards being champions.”
What the future holds for Peay in terms of potentially becoming the permanent head coach remains unknown. The club’s performance under his stewardship is sure to play a role but right now, the 49-year-old is just focused on the upcoming match against the Colorado Rapids.
“At the end of the day, I’m just thankful for the opportunity right now,” Peay said. “I want to do the best job I can for the team and organization right now. I have no control of the future, so [I] live every moment in the present. That’s all I can do.”
Going up against a Rapids side that is dealing with problems of their own could prove to be beneficial for New England. The club has the opportunity to focus on its soccer instead of the controversy circling around the organization.
But a loss could be another blow to a side that is trending downwards in the last two weeks. While Colorado has struggled, Peay isn’t expecting an easy three points.
“Colorado are going through something similar with a new interim coach and they’ve obviously had their struggles this year,” he said. “I’ve known Chris [Little], their current coach, for a long time and I know him very well. He’ll have them prepared. They’re a team that puts you under pressure and they want the ball. I think they want to perform not only for their fans at home, but Chris as their new coach. It will be a difficult game for us.”
I have been almost all of the Revs 2 home games and find Clint and his assistant working very good with the players. I think he will do good job coaching the team the rest of the season and into the playoffs.
Colorado is a tough place to play. A solid effort by the Revs is the minimum, but I’d also like to expect that there are no late game goals against. If the team delivers on those two objectives I’ll be less concerned about the result.
I think a solid performance in response to the last two games and the last few days will send a clear message about this team’s focus. Then we can get back to. Playoff positioning conversations. The off season will come soon enough.