Columbus Crew SC veteran Hector Jimenez spoke on the team’s current form, the guys’ mentality this week ahead of a big road match at D.C. United, and the perspective he’s providing to the guys in the midst of the Club’s four-match losing skid.
“Remain positive. I mean it is a long season, things like this happen throughout the years,” Jimenez said on the key aspect to focus on this week in training. “Obviously, it is not the situation that we like to be in. Just staying positive, believing in each other and knowing that things will hopefully go for us in the right way soon.”
Following a 2-0 loss at Houston, Columbus embarks on another three-match, eight-day stretch starting May 4 at Audi Field. From there, the Club returns home to host the LA Galaxy (May 8) and LAFC (May 11) in what will be two highly-anticipated home match-ups against two of the Western Conference’s top-tier clubs at the moment.
Despite playing well through the Crew’s first meeting with D.C. United on April 24, Jimenez relayed the coaching staff’s message following the set-back in Houston.
“It wasn’t good enough. It was a bad week for us,” Jimenez said. “Like I said, it happens, it is a long season. We have our next game against D.C., which we are looking forward to. It is an opponent that I think we can play really well at home and I think we can go there and get some points. We will take this whole week to get ready for that.”
From a table standpoint, the Black & Gold only remain four points out of first place in the Eastern Conference, with this weekend’s match standing as a good opportunity to jump back into the top-of-the-table conversation.
“Absolutely. We are only four points away from first. Some of the results have gone our way. It was just a bad week,” Jimenez said. “We have another three games in eight days coming up soon. If we win those games, we might possibly be in first. You never know. We will take one game at a time and that starts this weekend in D.C.”
As a nine-year MLS veteran, one of the biggest assets Jimenez provides at this point in time is perspective.
“I have seen these things happen. Passing that down to the younger guys and making sure that everyone stays positive and that everyone stays on the same page is a big part of my role.”
Kickoff at D.C. United is set for 8 p.m. ET on SportsTime Ohio and 1460 AM ESPN Columbus. Fans can also stream the match on FOX Sports GO, or stream English and Spanish audio on 971TheFan.com and ColumbusCrewSC.com.
