CF Montréal coach wants more from struggling side

It's an open secret that CF Montréal has been in turmoil for some time.

Since rumours surrounding Quebec midfielder Mathieu Choinière began swirling at the beginning of the month, CF Montréal sporting director Olivier Renard left the organization.

The club is 0-4 this month in Major League Soccer — having conceded three or more goals on each occasion — culminating in a bitter 5-1 loss against Toronto FC on Saturday, provoking the anger of the club's supporters.

It was enough for observers to question the team's cohesiveness.

On Tuesday, head coach Laurent Courtois once again took some of the blame for the club's recent failures, and added that he must return to the drawing board to put the club back on the right path.

“Doing my job is not enough. We have to be ready to offer a little extra and help each other out. For the moment, in fits and starts, I have the impression that we are just doing our job,” Courtois said.

“A little naively, and that's why I'm learning — we were talking about turbulence — perhaps through my naiveté, but in terms of the offensive and defensive phase of the game, I thought we were already at a stage of being able to come from behind. Now, we are doing our mea culpa, we are coming back to things that we thought we had figured out, so that our environment becomes more and more constant, and less and less variable.”

Courtois also said it is in adversity that one recognizes the true leaders of a team, so the shortage will allow him to learn more about his squad.

“There are those who offer you solutions, and those who only have problems to present to you. So for me, it's my role to find solutions and identify those who are constructive, compared to those who only have problems,” he said.

CF Montréal will face Forge FC on Wednesday (7:30 p.m., Onesoccer, TSN 690) in the return match of its quarterfinal series of the Canadian Championship, at Saputo Stadium. The teams drew 1-1 on May 7 at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton.

Courtois refused to specify his starting 11, but suggested that it could be “a mix of guys who are fresh and guys who deserve their chance, with some continuity to ensure consistency.”

Choinière, meanwhile, spoke again with members of the media Tuesday morning, but he did nothing to silence the rumours surrounding his future in the metropolis, even when he was asked directly if he had asked the club to trade him.

“What I can tell you is that I am here at the moment,” Choinière repeated dryly. “I'm preparing to play matches, I want to help the team, perform, help my teammates, help the staff, help the whole club perform better.”

Montreal's other team in this tournament, semi-pro CS Saint-laurent, won Toronto FC'S respect in the first leg of their quarterfinal despite the 3-0 score in the MLS club's favour.

And Toronto coach John Herdman said he expected the Ligue1 Quebec champion to “play with no fear” Tuesday night at Toronto's BMO Field.

“They know we're only human and they've seen that in the first leg,” Herdman said.

The challenges have come on and off the field, with plenty of media attention on Saint-laurent during a cup run that started May 2 with an upset penalty shootout win over the CPL'S Halifax Wanderers.

“It's been a lot and very fast, from playing Halifax to playing Toronto and playing Toronto a second time, it's been two and a half weeks. It feels like a year,” Saint-laurent coach Nick Razzaghi said.