Jaap Stam is trying to make strong first impressions with the FC Cincinnati players. But he is currently stuck in the Netherlands. This is a major disadvantage.
FC Cincinnati needed a new manager at the worst possible time. Ron Jans resigned a week before the new season commenced and then a global pandemic put their search for his replacement into disarray.
That, though, was just the start of their problems. While FC Cincinnati smartly bided their time to find the right replacement, using the now three-month suspension of play to their advantage, it has meant that the new manager has not had the chance to work with his squad.
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Cincinnati officially unveiled Jaap Stam as their new head coach last week. In reality, the decision was made long before then but was delayed due to COVID-19. However, with Stam based in the Netherlands and stuck there, the process was slow and arduous.
That has now impacted his coaching ability. While players have returned to individual and eventually small group sessions, Stam is not present to run them. This has been a strange process for the Cincinnati players.
Centre-back Kendall Watson revealed to mlssoccer.com that the first impressions have been a little weird:
"“Well, a little bit strange. Yesterday we were introduced to him and we have now the new trend of Zoom video calls so we had a chat with all the team. It was a little bit weird, obviously, it’s the first time this type of thing has happened. Now, we just welcome him. We as players are just waiting to have the head coach and assistant back to Cincinnati.”"
The desire to have Stam at the club was echoed by centre-back Nick Hagglund:
"“It’s nice having a new coach. This is an opportunity. This quarantine’s been a bit crazy and not really knowing what’s going on, but to come out on the opposite side of this with a direction, with an idea, an identity for this club, I think is awesome so I think everyone is really excited for him to get here. He’s not here yet, so we’re waiting for that, we’re excited for when he gets here and hopefully, we hit the ground running.”"
It sounds obvious, but FC Cincinnati are at a major disadvantage as a result of the disruption caused by their search for a new manager. Stam has not had chance to communicate his plans for the team and the squad is currently working with assistant coaches having only been introduced to their new manager over video calls. Hardly ideal.
This is only exacerbated by the work that Cincinnati did during the offseason. After a torrid first season in MLS, new General Manager Gerard Nijkamp retooled the entire squad. The club signed three new designated players, invested majorly across the team, and looked to address the major mismanagement of their first offseason prior to arriving in MLS. All this groundwork and change needs time to bed in, something that FC Cincinnati have never been afforded.
Stam and Cincinnati are starting behind the eight-ball. They already had ground to make up on the rest of the league and they have only lost pace since. Perhaps no club has been more negatively impacted by the pandemic than Cincinnati. It leaves Stam with much work to do.