ORLANDO, Fla. – Adrian Heath is confident assistant coaches Mark Watson and Ian Fuller will be ready for the challenge of Yankee Stadium and New York City FC on Sunday (2:30 pm ET; Fox Sports 1, Fox Deportes, TSN2), when the Orlando City SC head coach has to take a literal back seat for his team’s big showdown in the Big Apple.
Heath is suspended for the game after being dismissed during the second half of last weekend’s contentious 2-0 home defeat by New York Red Bulls, which included a first half red card for striker Cyle Larin that was later rescinded.
The Lions boss freely admits that he overstepped the mark last week and accepts his punishment, and he will be confined to the stands with no communication to the bench.
In his absence, former San Jose head coach Watson and former Orlando player-coach Fuller will be giving the pregame talk and taking charge of the sideline.
“It is another distraction we could do without, but we will do our preparation,” Heath said after training on Friday. “Watto and Ian are perfectly capable of taking over and I have no worries on that score.
“They are both experienced guys and we will make sure we have all our options worked out in advance. At the same time, they are also capable of acting as situations arise, so I won’t be worried on that score.”
Heath admits it is an awkward time to be sidelined, with the game coming at a critical juncture for both teams. Orlando are on a run of three straight defeats, including their midweek US Open Cup loss at Chicago, and have not picked up a league win since June 24 at home to Colorado.
“Obviously I wish this hadn’t happened,” the head coach added. “It is a huge game in the standings and we will have to think on our feet. A win is going to be very important here.
“I am more concerned with our consistency, though. We were poor against Dallas, but I couldn’t fault the effort against Red Bulls and then we had that non-performance at Chicago. Hopefully, the fact this is the biggest game in the country on Sunday will make them understand it is time to come and play.”
With Frank Lampard again ruled out of his New York debut by a lingering calf injury, Orlando will focus on the possibility of Italian star Andrea Pirlo supplying the ammunition for David Villa.
“We are preparing as if Pirlo will play,” Heath confirmed. “But the most intriguing thing is what their shape will be. We can be pretty sure where Pirlo will be but there are still other possibilities around him, so we will try to cover all eventualities. We will need to think on our feet, though.”
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Veteran center back Aurelien Collin is expecting a hard day at the office as he leads the Orlando backline, most likely alongside Sean St Ledger but with the possibility of Corey Ashe replacing Luke Boden at left back.
“We know offensively they are going to be very dangerous,” Collin said. “We have to focus on our defense and play their attackers as close as possible. Pirlo is an amazing player and we will have to make sure he cannot turn around in space.
“Every game is like a derby for us now. In the last three games, we might have been as good as people expected [from an expansion team], so now we want to show everybody that we are better than expected.”
