Matt Polster "Angry" About 4-0 Loss To Club America

Polster: “I think for me, and for the group, I hope it pissed us off enough to bring that on the weekend.”

Photo Courtesy of the New England Revolution

Matt Polster is “angry” about the New England Revolution’s 4-0 loss to Club America. 

The Revolution’s odds of advancing in the Concacaf Champions Cup (CCC) dwindled on Tuesday when they suffered a home loss in leg one of the quarterfinals. It was a performance that Polster wasn’t happy with.

“I think for me, and for the group, I hope it pissed us off enough to bring that on the weekend,” Polster said. “It's never a good feeling losing at home, and then the way we lost as well is not a good feeling. So, I was pretty angry about it. I was pretty upset. I'm going to bring those emotions and that feeling in this game against Charlotte.”

While there’s still another game left to play, it will be hard for the Revs to overturn the current aggregate when they head to Azteca Stadium. As such, the team is shifting their focus to the league.

The Revs are 3-1-1 in CCC, but have yet to collect a league win (0-4-1). Polster noted that the players are taking responsibility for this run of form.

“We've reflected as a group and as individuals,” Polster said. “It's on us as players. It has nothing to do with the coaching staff, the front office, the ownership group. We've come together as a group and we've reflected, and we know that it's us as players that need to get the job done.”

This is Caleb Porter’s first year as head coach of the Revolution and he has brought some new tactical ideas to the club.

Polster was asked about adjusting to the new system, especially when it comes to playing out of the back.

“It comes down to us players,” Polster said. “I think we haven't been sharp enough and clean enough as individuals, and I think that makes the game tick in the right way.

“What the coaching staff wants is us to play a bit more, but also be smart in moments. It's not all we have to play out of the back every single time. I think it's a mixture of finding the right balance of playing direct and playing off the forwards, and then trying to find ways to play out of the back. But it's finding the balance within ourselves and as a group, and making sure we can execute.”

The midfielder explained that there was a recent meeting about the need for overall improvement. This Saturday’s game against Charlotte FC is a chance to get back on track.

“At the end of the day, we have sat down as a group, and we discussed that the previous games haven't been good enough,” Polster said. “We haven't been good enough in the league, and we are going to find a way to right the ship on this weekend.”