Popovic has plan to make Fury FC successful

A season ago, Nikola Popovic guided his Swope Park Rangers to within a goal of a United Soccer League Cup title and still he was not a happy man.

So, staring at the USL table, with Popovic’s Ottawa Fury FC winless in four games with a league-worst goal-differential of minus-9, one might think Popovic is re-thinking his decision to leave the Kansas City suburbs to take on the massive rebuild of Fury FC.

Well, Popovic is not singing any Kansas City Blues.

The Fury FC skipper bought into a plan for Fury FC along with general manager Julian de Guzman, and knows it will take time — plenty of time.

“We had the big result with (Swope),” said the head coach as Fury FC prepare to meet FC Cincinnati on Saturday afternoon at TD Place. “But I didn’t like the way we played. I wanted to play attractive football. I wanted to implement more speed.

“I knew (Fury FC) would be a very big challenge. This team has been two years without going to the playoffs. But we want to implement an attractive style of play here. We want to dominate opponents, create chances and always be trying to score.

“So we must be patient. We cannot panic. To play like this is not easy. It’s an ambitious style.”

Popovic envisions a Fury FC roster almost entirely comprised of Canadian players.

He also wants a roster with a flair to excite the fan base and fill more seats.

That’s a lot to ask.

“Look, nobody likes to lose,” said Popovic. “Yes, our goal is still to make the playoffs and we need to collect points. We especially have to get points with our home games.

“But when you do lose, it’s how you react. And it will take time here to have our plan implemented. This is a new style with new players.”

Popovic was named Swope Park Rangers head coach ahead of the 2017 season after serving as an assistant in the club’s inaugural campaign in 2016. Popovic arrived in Kansas City following a stint as an assistant coach with Benfica B in Portugal.

Previous to that, the dual citizen of Portugal and Serbia who was born in Belgrade had coached in Portugal, Bulgaria, Spain, the United Arab Emirates and Montenegro.

After all that moving, Popovic aspires to call Ottawa home for a long time.

“This is our first year here and we cannot be delusional,” Popovic said. “Our goal here now is just to reach the playoffs. And the moment you reach the playoffs, anything is possible.”