Mo Johnston Quotations

There are certain things you need to do and winning derby games is one of them. We have a new owner and we'll have a traveling contingent so we need to perform and I'm confident that we will.

When things happen so fast you have to digest it and to be honest with you it's not really settled in with me. When I saw the response when Bob was addressing the team, and looking around and seeing the response from the players it's very tough but we're all professionals. We have to do our job and be in there fighting until I get the job or until I'm fired.

Magnificent. He's been magnificent all season. There is a door open now for the World Cup and I hope he's on it because of his performance here, not only tonight, but throughout his time here has been tremendous.

Magee has had a very good training camp. He has worked on his fitness and it shows. His finishing this entire camp has been in a different class.

Obviously, we need a little more confidence. We're lacking it at the moment.

Right now, I don't care if we get yellow cards. I want this group to be nasty as a team because sometimes we're too soft. And tonight I got a feeling when I was on the sideline that New England kept (complaining) to the referee. That was a good sign because we were playing tough.

I am extremely excited about the challenge that lies ahead. We have three games left, and my goal is to get this team into the play-offs.

I felt Freddy didn't want any part of Marvell in the first half. It was an easier time. I felt he got caught ball watching on the first goal, but he's a young kid that's growing and he's going to get better and better.

From our standpoint, our performance was totally unacceptable.

(I expect him to be) getting up and down the wings. I'm just looking at certain things. I know in my head what I'm looking for; I'm not worried.

He's had a tremendous camp. His pace is unbelievable and his recovery is tremendous. There's no doubt in my eyes that you're going to see a Rookie of the Year come the end of the season. There's no one running by him and he just needs to get better in his positioning. Mark my words, he's going to be Rookie of the Year come the end of the season.

He fit right in. He is a very talented kid who has the potential to be a great player in this league.

We're pleased but disappointed. We can get better.

He said he was sorry. End of story. I'm not worried about that. He buckled down in the second half. Normally in the past, he would be sent off.

His numbers are the same and obviously that's what you guys in the media are looking at. But it's what he brings to his teammates that's most important. He's always in the mix and he's always making, creating and scoring some goals.

He's been very solid in the preseason and training and everything that he's done.

He's physical, he's strong and he's fast and with Edson next to him we could give teams real problems.

Knowing the guy for four years, it's not his make up. Does he do other things on the field? Of course he does. Will he lash out and call somebody something racial? That I'm sure he wouldn't do.

I thought Eddie worked very hard. I was encouraging him to go one-on-one, which I felt he needed to do a little bit more of. He had a decent first half.

It is going to be different in D.C..

I was wanting more from Amado Guevara tonight. I told him at halftime there are times we have to defend with the 10 guys who are on that field and at times he doesn't do that. When you look at it, you want Amado Guevara on the ball a lot more than what he did tonight.

Panic struck when they scored the first one and then there were six or seven minutes of added time. You have to compete right to the end and we fell asleep on a couple of plays.

Our problem is we can't put the ball in the back of the net.

It doesn't look good here. I'm fine. I'm not worried about it. I'm trying to do my job right now.

It doesn't matter if they're hurt or not. It doesn't matter to me whether they play or not. They're going to be banged up anyway, because when they come in here they're in for a fight.

I thought Marvell could have done a little bit better in terms of closing because when you play in a four, you can push on to him. Again, we're going through growing pains.

I was nervous at 2-0. Credit D.C., they're a good team, they come forward and they come forward well. When you look at 2-0, they get a goal and then it gives them a lift and that's what happens. You start to get nervous people out there.

We'll come back to regroup and hopefully we'll have certain guys and a strong group to start with.

We got bit playing three in the back tonight. That's all there is to it.

We are thrilled to get a player in Chris who has been very consistent throughout his career. He is the ultimate professional with tons of experience. He has worked very hard over the course of his career and is very versatile because he can play on either the left or the right. He is a great addition to our club.

We gave up an easy goal and then we couldn't respond. It's a problem we are going to have to address before the season begins.

You'd like to win at home, but New England is a very tough team.

We are delighted that Amado has joined us in camp. There have been a lot of things said in recent weeks, but those are behind us now. Amado addressed his teammates this morning at training and we are ready to move forward. He knows there is a lot of hard work ahead of him.

We weren't as sharp offensively as we'd like to be. We just couldn't finish.

When you look at it, you want Amado Guevara on the ball a lot more than what he did today. With him being away for maybe 10 or 11 days, he's not looked as sharp in the last two games but he's a quality player and you can't discount quality players.

We are excited to add another quality striker to our club. Jean Philippe is a strong, quick forward who is very good in the air. He has proven he can score goals in this league and we believe he can contribute to our team immediately.

Tony came up very big, in the first half especially. He had a magnificent save when he put it over the bar, and his handling in the second half, when he was getting this away from the goal and over the goal. You expect your big-time players to step up and he did that tonight.

We all know what Amado can do. He possesses skills that no one else in this league has. But we have to challenge him to make plays like that.

We will be playing a lot of the younger guys to give them some more time so I can see where I want to go from there. This is where I get to work tactically, which I'm looking forward to because the group we have is very flexible.

Tony is healthy; Jon is healthy. Both of them have performed well.

We will take a look at some of the international invitees and hope that they can contribute to the club.

We are very excited to get Marvell. He has strength and pace, and those two qualities will make for a very good defender in this league.

We didn't hold the lead and I told our team we should have come away with three points. We closed up shop and then we nearly gave up a goal at the end with Chris Klein. We can't afford to do that.

Bob is a good friend, and now I'm picking up the pieces. But it's my opportunity to move the team forward. It's an emotional day, tough on the players, tough on the staff.

Credit D.C., they're a good team and they come forward well. The second goal was a deflection. It was going straight at Tony and it came off Jeff and there's nothing much you can do.

There's no question it all has been a distraction. Practice this week has been (bad) and part of it is not knowing what is going to happen. We need to put it all behind us and focus on D.C. because if we don't we are going to lose.

There's no one running by him and he just needs to get better in his positioning. Mark my words, he's going to be Rookie of the Year come the end of the season.

I've seen him in Indiana, I've seen him at the combine last year and he can play. He's a tough-nosed kid, but a lot of people don't give him credit because he can pass. We freed up an international spot, we freed up money and we got a guy who is young.

It was tremendous and it was good that the players went and acknowledged them. They were very vocal.

The system was very important to play against them. The way we competed on the sides and in the midfield was the key to beating them.

I wanted more from Amado Guevara tonight. When you look at it, you want Amado Guevara on the ball more than he was tonight.

D.C. was the better team. There's no way I'm going to stand up here and make excuses when we got beat 4-1.

As a team, we defended very well. Obviously the fans would have liked maybe three or four goals but tonight it just wasn't the case.

You're not going to forget a loss like that. We came away knowing that we just weren't good enough. We needed more quality and that's what we spent the off-season looking for.

The way they play, they're a strong attacking team. They're a strong unit, a good team and we respect that. But that's as far as it will go.

A lot of people say he's a 35-year-old with a 30-year-old body. He's very fit.

There will be certain Cosmos fans here just for them. They had a wonderful team and you can never take that away from them.

There were times that they've shown they can do it easily but there's times that they're not on the same page. There's times the two of them are in the same spot. I know where this team is going, I know what I want. There's certain things I don't like but at the end of the day they can do it.

This is what we start in January for and we don't want to go home early. We don't want to be finished this time of the year. We want to still in the next round and we have that opportunity. If we can make our way into the next round, we can go far.

It's a tremendous honor. He deserves it. He's been the best goalkeeper in this league for the last 10 years, by far.

It was interesting. It was good practice. It's always good to see them in a different light so we put them on the big field. There were a few plusses and a few minuses.

I told him about it at halftime. He buckled down in the second half when in the past he might have been sent off.

It's all about fitness. I'm not interested in the result. I'm interested in seeing certain things. Mike Magee's been great. He's been great the whole preseason. I'm very pleased with him.

It's been a long week for all of us, the staff, the front office and the players. The players did an unbelievable job for me, after all the commitments they made all week trying to sell this game. That's what you have to do in America.

It's painful because we played so well for a good part of the game. It's not over though. We know we still have a chance and it has to start against D.C. They are a good team but we have to play like this is our last chance, because it could be.

Taylor has had a very impressive camp. He came in very fit and his height obviously gives him a big advantage on the backline.

It's important to stay compact against them and to keep the ball. You need to take care of Moreno, and Freddy will be dancing in between people and it's important to keep pressure on their wide guys and we can do that.

It was a good 14 days down here. Everyone worked very hard; that is all you can ask of them.

There was a nice buildup of about six or seven passes and Eddie did a great job of keeping his composure and finishing.

So far, Johnny X has shown a bit more than most. He's one for the future. He's one that you look at and spend some time on. He's a threat. He has good pace. He's got an eye for the goal.

I'm excited. I would like it to have been under different circumstances, but that's just the way the nature of this game is.

I'm feeling very excited. I'm looking forward to the coming season. I think we're going to be putting a good product on the field for our fans to enjoy. The new owners have spent a lot of money upgrading a lot of things. I think it can only be great for our franchise and the league. We're all moving forward together.

I'm not a quitter, I'm in here fighting and I'll always stand by my players. That's the way I've always been. Hopefully I can look them in the eye on Wednesday night and they can give me a good performance.

I'm happy with it. They now have to come after us. I like that idea.

I'm comfortable in every position. And that's even coming off our bench.

I just see different things for my team. He's done well but I don't see him in my plans.

He's still great at 40. It's great to see him still doing it, and it's fun to watch.

He's an exciting young kid. He's fast, obviously he's 16 years old. When you have kids like that, you can hopefully build them into men and become good soccer players.

I felt we needed a lot of depth, which I don't think we had last year.

I don't think there was much soccer played on either side. There was a lot of tackling, but it was a good exercise in terms of fitness.

A baby changes your dinner party conversation from politics to poops [very pleasant thanks for that mental image Maurice!]

The goal for these two weeks is to bring the group together and to train hard. The guys have already started to come together in the first few days of training in New York and our time down here will certainly accelerate the process.