PURCHASE, N.Y. – Jason Kreis has some straightforward advice for Mix Diskerud.
Keep it simple.
“We brought him here for the particular qualities of what he is and all we need of him is to do the best of his abilities to the best of his capabilities, to do what he does best and that’s going to be enough,” the New York City FC coach said.
Kreis said Diskerud’s struggles aren’t unique to the midfielder. He said its something that happens to every player making a transition to their first season in Major League Soccer.
That the 24-year-old, who had played previously in Norway and Belgium, is one of the expansion team’s highest profile players, further complicates things.
“He’s part of a big club, he’s making a good chunk of money, he’s living in the city and he has so many different things going on,” Kreis said. “I think, in my opinion, he is trying to be something he doesn’t need to be.”
Kreis said he doesn’t have to go too far back to see the best of Diskerud, who was subbed out in the 64th minute of Sunday’s 2-1 loss to the New York Red Bulls.
“The first two games of the season this year he was absolutely fantastic and when he was with the national team against Mexico, he was absolutely fantastic,” Kreis said. “So it’s not like it was a year ago the last time he played well. It’s still there and I think we can tap into it.”
In the season opener gainst Orlando City, Diskerud scored the first goal in NYCFC history and had a season-high 68 successful passes. In a 2-1 win over New England the following week, he had 64 successful passes. By contrast, Diskerud has two shots on goal over the last three games and he had a season-low 22 successful passes in the loss to Red Bulls.
- Get more New York City FC news at NYCFC.com
Diskerud said he’s talked to Kreis and understands what is expected of him. That includes more touches on the ball, something that was lacking against the Red Bulls.
“I want to be on the ball as much as possible,” Diskerud said. “At times I’ve been a lot on the ball and other games I haven’t. Of course my job is to be as much on the ball as possible, connect passes and set people up for goal scoring chances. I’ve got to work on that and try to get better and better.”
The search for consistency is far from simply a Diskerud issue. It’s been a problem that has plagued NYCFC throughout their eight-match winless streak. But a positive result against the Chicago Fire on Friday night (7 pm ET; UDN, UnivisionDeportes.com) at Yankee Stadium could go a long way toward solving the club’s woes.
“The biggest issue is winning games. We play really good soccer at times, but it’s about performing for 90 minutes,” Diskerud said. “We’re trying to get there and [on Friday] I’m pretty sure we’re going to get a good result.”
