VANCOUVER, BC – As the battle for the fifth and final playoff place in the Western Conference goes down to the wire, the different permutations that Vancouver Whitecaps FC may face on Saturday are threefold. A victory, a draw and even a loss may all be good enough to send the 'Caps to the postseason.
Playoff rivals Portland will kick off their final game of the season in Dallas an hour and a half before Vancouver host Colorado at BC Place (7 p.m. PT; TSN1). Vancouver need to at least match the result that the Timbers achieve in Texas to make it to the postseason, and coach Carl Robinson is instilling a “must-win” mentality to his players in the buildup to the match.
"We need to win," Robinson stated to reporters. "I firmly believe Portland will go to Dallas and get a result because they’ve got a fantastic group of players. That’ll be our focus and that’ll be the message I send to the guys.
"I won’t be looking at the result, I’ll be focusing on what we can do and how we need to conduct ourselves in relation to Saturday. The reality is if we win the game, we’re in, and that’s all my focus is, so that’s the mentality we’ll have going into the game."
Portland’s final result will be unknown when Vancouver kick off their game on Saturday evening and that scenario that means Robinson is not afforded the luxury of being able to rest key players.
If their playoff goal is achieved, Robinson will worry about any fatigue issues with his players afterwards.
"I’ll pick my strongest team I think can go on and win the game, and what will be will be," Robinson said. "It won’t affect my mindset because I want to win that game on Saturday.
"I’ll deal with it [player fatigue] after the game and if I genuinely believe someone’s tired going into Wednesday’s [Knockout Round playoff] game then I’ve got a squad of players. If I need to use or rotate my squad on Wednesday then I will, but Saturday’s the important game. If we get through that, I’ll deal with it should it be."
Vancouver are fortunate to control their own fate going into the final game of the season, but left back Jordan Harvey knows only too well how going into such a match with the wrong mindset or tactics can prove costly.
Harvey was part of a Colorado Rapids squad in 2009 that went into their last game of the season needing just a single point to make the playoffs, but instead suffered a 3-0 defeat at rivals Real Salt Lake that put their opponents into the postseason at their expense.
"Unfortunately, I’ve been in this situation in the past and been on the bad end of it, so I know how important it is and how we have to bring the right attitude," Harvey said. "As you can see in training, it’s the same as it has been the last few weeks and we have it in our hands, so we need to take it."
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