Last night's victory was a special occasion, as former Dynamo 2 Head Coach and current first team interim Head Coach Kenny Bundy earned his first victory in Major League Soccer. Following Saturday's gutsy 0-0 draw with Sporting Kansas City, the Dynamo faced a New England Revolution side who were in desperate need of three points to keep their playoff push alive. Two goals from Fafa Picault and an early tap-in from Darwin Quintero provided the Dynamo with all three points, and Bundy with a career milestone.
“I’m more excited for the team. My job is to get these guys to play at the standard that they can play for the last five games. I’m more excited for the feeling that those players have right now in that locker room than I am as an individual. All credit goes to those guys.”
Interim Head Coach, Kenny Bundy
Coming in with five games remaining was a massive task for Bundy and his staff, which includes MLS legend Roy Lassiter and Academy Head of High Performance Tony Vigil. Only seven days in to their journey with the Dynamo first team, the energy - and response - has been apparent to all involved.
"He just brought a great vibe, he's brought a new energy to us," said forward Fafa Picault. "He's done a great job of keeping things concise in the meetings, and throughout the training sessions where we're not getting too fatigued, but we're still getting enough work and to be able to exercise them in the games. More than that, obviously, we have the tactics, but more than that is he's coming as a great person and we all just want to fight for him."
Bundy himself has made it a point with his staff to bring energy to the group as they fight to build momentum heading into the MLS offseason.
"I wrote this on the staff walls on dry erase boards that ‘Our energy is going to be their energy. Our mentality is going to be their mentality.’," said Bundy. "It’s really important that they understand that we believe in them and it’s not just words. We believe in what they can do."
"I'm an energetic guy," continued Bundy. "This is one of the best jobs in the world, and I don't take that for granted a single day in my life. I have a lot of joy and the staff has a lot of joy being able to work with these guys."
Bundy and his staff now look ahead to a pair of away games against two of the best the Western Conference has to offer - LAFC and Nashville SC - before returning home before a Decision Day showdown with the Los Angeles Galaxy. Fans can buy tickets to the match here, and Bundy has stated that the Club wants to make coming to PNC Stadium a difficult task for any side who makes the journey moving forward.
“We want this to be a miserable place to come," said Bundy. "We want this to be awful. We want people to see it on the schedule and go ‘Ugh, I’m not looking forward to that.’ That was part of the message as well. Who is going to be grittier. Who is going to do the nastier things. Which by that I mean, who is going to make the extra run? Who is going to be the person that makes the extra tackle?"
