United States defender Antonee Robinson said the atmosphere at training already feels “a little bit more intense” under new head coach Mauricio Pochettino as players prepare for October friendlies against Panama and Mexico.
Pochettino will lead his first international window with the team after joining the USMNT on Sept. 10 on a two-year contract, replacing former manager Gregg Berhalter.
“Yeah, straight away it seems a little bit more intense,” Robinson said in a press conference. “Usually lads getting in on a Monday or getting in on Sunday and training on the Monday. If you’ve played on Saturday, it’s kind of like you’re not doing a lot of your recovery on the bike.
“Yesterday we were kind of straight into training and it was a tough session. So we were kind of right away we were here to work. So, it was definitely intense … and then he knows that we’ve got a short period of time to kind of understand the principles he wants us to play with and tactics and whatnot, which we’ve not really gotten into yes.
“So, yes, obviously small steps, but it definitely feels like camp’s going to be a period where, we’ll have time to enjoy it, but we’re going to work hard and really build towards success.”
The team is coming off a difficult summer after failing to make the knockout round of the 2024 Copa América and concluding the Conmebol tournament with a 1-2-0 (W-L-D) record. Berhalter was fired by the U.S. on July 10, following the Copa.
The U.S. then suffered through a challenging September international window under interim manager Mikey Varas, losing 2-1 to Canada on home turf for the first time in 67 years and drawing 1-1 against New Zealand.
Charlotte FC and USMNT defender Tim Ream said that after meeting Pochettino and the new USMNT coaching staff, the message relayed to him is clear: “He wants to win.”
“There were a lot of individual conversations, understanding us as people and they’ve continued throughout,” Ream said. “Obviously, I had my conversation [with the coaching staff] right when I showed up on Sunday. Then as hours have ticked by, you see certain guys getting pulled to have sit-down chats. I think it’s great.
“They want to get to know us and obviously we want to get to know them. The message is that he wants to win. He has his principles, he has his ideas, but at the end of the day it’s about winning. It’s important to have that mentality. It’s important to have that mindset going forward leading into these games and beyond that.”
The U.S. hosts Panama on Oct. 12 in Austin, Texas before traveling to Guadalajara to play Mexico on Oct. 15.