Jackson-Hamel liked Wilmer Cabrera

(Montreal) If Wilmer Cabrera needs allies to convince the Montreal Impact leadership to give him another chance at the helm, he can still turn to Anthony Jackson-Hamel.

Posted on 08 October 2019 at 19h57

Michel Lamarche
The Canadian Press

As part of the Impact's end-of-season report on Tuesday at the Nutrilait Center, the Quebec athlete made it clear that the arrival of Cabrera, who reported to Rémi Garde in August, had made him the most great good.

"The change of staff certainly had a big, positive impact for me personally," said Jackson-Hamel, who in September 2017 signed a two-year contract with one option year. for 2020. "

"With Wilmer, I had some discussions, I felt he wanted me to play. After that, it's unfortunate what happened with my knee injury against Toronto, which put the season to a close for me. It was clear with the club that I wanted to come back next year, after, the ball is in the club camp. We have the Champions League coming in, so yes, of course I want to come back for this step and then it will be up to the management to make a decision. "

Although he never named it, it was also easy to perceive that Jackson-Hamel felt that it was impossible to satisfy Guard not only this year, but last year too.

"I felt like I was working against a wall, I looked like the guy who was not doing anything," Jackson-Hamel said when he was asked to describe his moods in recent months. "

"The way the coach was describing me, it was negative, it was not always to my advantage. It was very hard to work in a system like that, as I said, to feel like working against a wall. No matter what you do, it's not recognized. So, yes, it was hard but we saw that at the end of the season, it changed with a new coach, a new "staff", a new vision. "

Author of three goals in 16 games, including six as the incumbent, Jackson-Hamel also said he could have played in the last two meetings of the team.

"We decided not to play the games and return to 100% next year," he said while agreeing with this approach.

As for Cabrera, who met Olivier Renard on Monday, he did not seem at all worried about his future. However, in the short term, he hopes to give himself some time to refuel.

"I will continue to be a coach, here or elsewhere. I do not worry about my future because I know what I can do. For now, there are some things I want to do, among other things take a little time to recharge the batteries, reorganize myself. I will go to Colombia to see my mother, I will take my family with me, I want to visit my children, "he said.

The future of the guardians

No matter who will lead the Impact in 2020, he will have an interesting decision to make in the team's net. After making 66 straight starts in MLS, Evan Bush remained on the sidelines in the last two games of the regular calendar, making way for Clément Diop.

If Bush was disappointed with the turn of events, he did not let it show up in front of the reporters. He has also made it clear that he wants to stay with the Impact in 2020, and he says he is ready to face "healthy competition".

"Of course you want to play in every game," said Bush, who was voted the defensive MVP of the Impact in 2018. "But I understood we had momentum after the win at the Canadian Championship. and I think it was important to keep that momentum going. For that reason, I think it was a fair decision. In a season and during a career, you will have ups and downs. All you can do is keep a positive attitude. The inter-season is long, especially this year, and it leaves a lot of time to assess the situation and re-energize the mind and body and come back stronger. "

Diop earned the opportunity to play the past two games after delivering a strong performance in the Canadian Championship duel on September 25 in Toronto and collected his first shutout in the MLS with the Impact on Sunday against the Red Bulls. New York. He also cleared Toronto FC in the first leg of the Canadian Championship final a week earlier.

However, his contract expired after the last game and he does not know what to expect, even though he met the team leaders on Monday.

"I have not been told if I will have departures or not next year. I'm waiting to know a little more, honestly, and I will definitely have more discussions in the coming weeks. From there, we will make a decision together. I passed on to the club my way of thinking. The ball is in their camp. "

"I think they would like me to come back next year but right now, I do not know under what conditions they would like me to come back. It's something I'm going to need to know over the next few weeks before making a decision. "