John Hackworth enters the postseason for St. ÑÇÖÞÎÞÂë City SC in the same situation he’s been in since July 1: carrying the title of interim head coach in the wake of the firing of Bradley Carnell.
Hackworth has made no secret of the fact that he wants the job, that coaching is something he loves to do. At the same time, if he doesn’t get the job, he already has another job with the club, as technical director. He just doesn’t know which one he’ll be doing in January.
“Being in limbo sucks,†Hackworth said Wednesday.
Hackworth and sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel, who will be making the decision, met separately with the media on Wednesday, though Pfannenstiel hung around in the interview room to watch Hackworth’s session. Amid talk of what moves may still lie ahead on the roster, the one that looms largest may be the coaching decision.
“We always said it’s a process,†Pfannenstiel said. “So it’s not, you just pick a coach when you feel like it. We said we want to have a clear search. We want to have a clear protocol how we want to go ahead. And I think we’re coming now toward the end of the process, so we are not far away from making a decision. So it’s pretty much around the corner.
“John did a great job. John showed that he’s capable to lead a team, to take over a team which was not in the best mental conditions and physical conditions when he took over. I cannot give you the list of final candidates. The only thing I can say is that John worked hard. John worked well, and John is a good coach.â€
“I think Lutz and I have a good relationship,†Hackworth said, “and I think he trusts me. He knows what I can do. I don’t think it’s just me though. I mean, there’s a lot of other things in this situation, so I’m pretty confident about how he feels about me, and anything else that happens from there, I don’t know.â€
Would he like quick closure on this? “That would be nice,†he said.
City SC had five wins, three ties and six losses under Hackworth in MLS play, though the numbers are in some ways meaningless. While that’s better than Carnell’s mark of three wins, 10 ties and seven losses, Hackworth had the far better roster, especially after the summer transfer window and injured players returned. The team went 4-3-3 with its new players in the lineup.
“I do want to coach,†Hackworth said, “but I also have to do what’s right for my family, what’s right for this club, and those are complicated, tough decisions. So I don’t have anything in my mind that says, ‘OK, if I don’t get this job, I’m going to go find another coaching job.’ I love coaching. I’m really confident that I could be a good coach wherever I needed to do that, whether it’s in Tower Grove Park, coaching a bunch of 5-year-olds or coaching players like (Marcel Hartel) here in CityPark. So that’s what I love to do. And I’m sure I’ll figure out a way to do that.
“And by the way, Lutz has made me coach every team in this club. So it seems like there’s lots of opportunities that I get to coach here.â€
As for what lies ahead for the club, Pfannenstiel said that while the team picked up all but two options on Tuesday, putting its roster at 27 (with three players out on loan), it doesn’t necessarily mean that all those players will be back as other teams look to strengthen certain positions and as new expansion club San Diego begins assembling its roster. (The league announced Tuesday that City SC will play in San Diego’s first home game, on March 1.)
Pfannenstiel noted areas of concern, one at center back, where one of the team’s first-choice players, Joakim Nilsson, has missed much of the club’s first two seasons because of injuries, and a general desire to get faster. The team has some backups at center back — Josh Yaro, Kyle Hiebert and Michael Wentzel — but Pfannenstiel said he’s still looking.
“Joakim worked hard,†Pfannenstiel said. “I hope that Joakim keeps that level which he played in the last few games, and then we will see. With Henry Kessler, I think we have another guy who proved that it was a good piece of business but also a good addition to our level of play. And then we will see now what else we can adjust or do on that position.
“Apart from that, I’m not too unhappy. I sometimes believe the ‘need for speed’ is one of my favorite sentences in football. So I’m also a bit on the outlook there to get a little bit of juice when it comes to attacking options and counter play options.â€
Two injured players are making progress. Celio Pompeu said he was aiming to be ready for the start of camp in mid-January after fracturing his fibula and dislocating his ankle in a game on June 15, while Tomas Ostrak, who injured his ankle in practice in May, didn’t want to set a timeline for his return to play.
“I don’t want to make some pressure on me,†Ostrak said. “I’m just comfortable right now where I am and confident and trying to be healthy.â€
Both Ostrak and Pompeu will stay in St. ÑÇÖÞÎÞÂë during the offseason to continue their rehabilitation, though Pompeu said he will make a quick trip home to Brazil at some point.