Mentality Still Lacking For Revolution

“I mean, something that’s got to change is the personnel for sure."

Photo By J. Alexander Dolan

Mentality has been a key trait for Caleb Porter since he became head coach of the New England Revolution, yet with the Revs’ backs against the wall, Porter believes the squad’s mentality is lacking.

Porter has been mentioning mentality since the beginning of New England’s 2024 campaign but Wednesday was an all too familiar feeling as the Revolution blew a 2-0 lead and saw three points evaporate to just one. Points are at a premium as the Revs look to climb out of the bottom of the Eastern Conference and earn a playoff berth.

Wednesday night was a large step backwards.

The Revolution had beaten CF Montreal in Canada 5-0. Heading into Wednesday’s match, a win seemed likely and fans in New England were confident.

But the Revs took their foot off the gas pedal. As Porter illustratively put it after the match, they had their hands around Montreal’s throat, knife in their heart but New England couldn’t finish the job.

“Very disappointing result,” the head coach said. “You look at the recent home games, for me, it's eerily similar. Look at Dallas. We get our nose in front and we end up somehow conceding the second half, dropping two points there. St. Louis as well, we get our nose in front there, 2-1, and somehow concede there, drop two points. And then today, arguably our best first half of the year in terms of playing aggressive, executing what we wanted to on both sides of the ball. Couldn't have been happier, scored the first two goals, we're a touch offside scoring the third goal. At halftime, we talked about more of the same. Keep being aggressive, keep pushing for the third goal, keep pressing high, keep attacking. And the last thing I told them was don't foul, because all [CF Montréal] had in the first half, really, was two or three fouls around our defensive third, which led to set pieces. I said, ‘Listen, that's all they got. Let's be smart with the fouls.'“

The Revolution committed a foul and Tom Pearce curled in a free kick from 25 yards out to bring Montreal within a goal. Porter didn’t think the goal was one that shouldn’t have occured.

“Now it's 2-1, the psychology of the match changes, of course, but we have to be stronger from there, and I didn't like our response” the coach continued. “When it went 2-1, shouldn't have went 2-1, but it happens. This sport, there are lightning bolts that all of the sudden happen, and certainly, that was one, a goal out of nowhere. Foul, dead ball, near post, shouldn't happen. But we have to be stronger. We have to be stronger in that moment. We get tentative, now we get passive, we drop in too much. You look at the second goal, we're not tight enough when the player [Nathan Saliba] receives the ball. We let him turn and shoot. Shouldn't happen. At 2-2, for me, the goal is in there to win it, even. I want to see more in the last 10 minutes. I want to see more push, because I think they're hanging on. For me, it's another disappointing result.”

Against St. Louis and Orlando, New England both struggled to see out a victory (St. Louis) and failed to show the necessary fight after seeing their opponents take a lead (Orlando).

After seeming firmly pinned up against the wall, the pressure has somehow increased for the Revolution as it searches for a playoff berth.

“So, now our backs are even more against the wall,” the coach said. “We've got to pick ourselves back up. We have to continue to look at the good, because the first half was excellent. But as I told the guys in the locker room, I'm tired of seeing them in second halves stop executing and letting the control in the match that we have – letting the opponent back in the game.”

Porter isn’t shying away from criticism, he made it clear on numerous occasions that he is ultimately responsible when the team isn’t performing; but he also believes that some of the mentality issues can be tied back to personnel.

“I mean, something that’s got to change is the personnel for sure. But I feel like we’re making progress,” the coach said. “You see every signing, we hit on every signing in the first two windows, in my opinion. I feel like we hit on every signing, and we’re getting better and better with every piece that comes in.”

Porter mentioned that Alhassan Yusuf is one of the player’s that mentality won’t be an issue. He has competed in UEFA Champions League matches and represented Nigeria on the international stage.

Yusuf hopes that this will be a lesson for New England and a reminder that they need to kill the game whenever possible. The midfielder also added that leadership is necessary to make sure that all the players on the pitch have the right mentality.

“I think it has to do with the leadership in the team,” the Nigerian said. “You know, couple of guys just kind of take the team with them. I think that's what we didn't have today and I think we're going to fix that for the upcoming games.”

Yusuf and Porter praised Carles Gil’s leadership and mentality but the captain can not do it alone. While mentality can be a personal trait, it can also see itself blend into the collective mentality of the group.

Porter outright said that some players need to have a stronger mentality and be more consistent. With the pressure on the club, Porter believes that fans and media members — along with himself — will see what these players are truly made of.

“There are some guys, there's never a problem, but some guys in key positions need to have a stronger mentality and there's too much up and down,” Porter said. “I need to see more. So these last six games, as our season gets tighter and tighter, our backs are more than ever against the wall. Every game's a must-win now. We're really going to find out - and everybody, even the fans - you're going to see what these guys are made of. You're going to see if they have that mentality under pressure to perform, because the best teams in our league do. They do. Doesn’t mean they win every game, but by and large, when you see the best teams, they are more consistent, because their mentality is stronger individually and collectively. So for me, it's going to be good to see their backs against the wall and see what we do, because we’ve got to go and win against Charlotte. We’ve got to win the game.”