Veteran coach discusses what it will take to win championship
The 2014 Atlantic University Sport (AUS) regular season, which has been action-packed with unanticipated results so far, is moving to its latter stage. And the journey for the Dalhousie Tigers has been mixed.
With a 3-4-2 record, the Tigers are in sixth position. The Gazette sat down with head coach Pat Nearing to discuss his thoughts on the season thus far.
“Team performance has been good, but due to really unfortunate injuries we have not been able to field the strongest team. Some key players have been injured and because of that we have to make some positional adjustment within the team and some people are not playing at their best position,” says Nearing. Nearing attributes the biggest positive of the season to their back end. “We gave up four goals against Cape Breton, but overall I would say our keepers and defence have been excellent.”
Nearing had nothing but praise for their top goal and point scorer Bezick Evraire. He also added that Zach Mbolekwa is having a breakthrough season for the Tigers this season.
“Zach has come a really long way,” he says. “He is in his fourth year now here and is another player who has done very well.” Nearing realizes the complexity of the league, with the overwhelming potential to move placements in the standings on a weekly bases. He says it all falls back on winning games.
“Our league is tight, one win moves you from fifth place to second and one loss takes you from second place to seventh, so we really need to be focus and especially after losing two home games we need to go get points on the road.”
Nearing is pleased with the way his players have reacted after losing two home games. “The players’ spirit has been excellent. They apply themselves in practice, they are hardworking so I have been very happy with my players and their application to training games is excellent,” he says.
Nearing admitted that injuries to players have been one of the most frustrating aspects of the season. “Until we get our top players playing in the position I feel they are most effective, we haven’t seen the potential of our team yet.”
However, he believes the team is just about where it needs to be to find post-season success. “Now everyone is fit. Everybody is available, everybody will be playing the position that I have envisioned for them in the beginning of the season,” he says.
Pat Nearing, who is a Wigan Athletic fan, admires Roberto Martinez and follows his philosophy.
“I love the way he carries himself, I love the football his team plays and the way he is behind his players and create team chemistry and also gets the most of his player. Other managers like Arsene Wenger and Manuel Pellegrini also do very well, but Martinez is the one I admire. I follow his philosophy because we are a hardworking and dedicated team and my biggest ambition is to create the best team chemistry in the country. I think we are probably in that range. We win together and we lose together, but we are honest in our application to the game.”
Pat Nearing is currently in his 17th year as head coach of the Tigers. He says that as soccer evolves, he has to evolve with it. “We are receiving players from Canadian Club system and sometime we get international players who transfer in from other countries. Over the years the level of athletes has increased in soccer, which has helped to increase the level of play in the CIS and the AUS” says Nearing.
“It’s a very fickle situation because when you lose two or three good players. It becomes very difficult to replace them. It’s not like hockey players where we have lots of lots of great players in Canada. We have to really look carefully to find good soccer players especially in this league, which is very athletic and physical. Level of soccer in Dalhousie has been very consistent but we have to increase our level more in order to compete at the very top of Canadian pyramid.”
Nearing suggested how Canadian soccer can be improved.
“We need to have a professional league like in Europe if we are to have good players. We need Canadian players to push their way into Europe, Africa and Asia in order to improve our FIFA rankings. Women players are very good but professional element in men’s game is critical for creating world class players.”
This interview was conducted prior to the Tigers’ 3-1 win over Université de Moncton and their 1-0 loss to UNB.
Recent Comments