![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/indicator-big.gif\")
<\/p>\n\u201cWe have worked hard in pre-season, staying for 40 days without seeing family, which is very difficult for players and staff. We\u2019ve made great sacrifices to go on the pitch and try to win,\u201d said head coach Marco Donadel. <\/p>\n
\t<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I\u2019m not satisfied, and we\u2019re working hard to be better. We have eight new players and lost some important ones like every team, and we haven\u2019t found the right solutions in difficult games.\u201d<\/p>\n
The defensive side of the ball has scarcely been better, struggling in most phases of play. With several new arrivals over the past several months occupying prominent roles along the backline and struggling to fully integrate with Donadel\u2019s particularly demanding system, growing pains are coming at a high cost.<\/p>\n
Since the departure of standout defender George Campbell last July, the club has brought in three central defenders, three full-backs, and a new goalkeeper, forcing unacquainted players to build chemistry from scratch.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re a professional team, and we want to hold ourselves to the highest standard that we can. You need to keep yourself accountable and hold your teammates accountable,\u201d said Jalen Neal, whose 12 months in Montreal now make him the second-most senior defender at the club.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re still building as a team, and it\u2019s still early in the season. I wouldn\u2019t say I feel (pressure from the fans), but I can definitely see where they\u2019re coming from, especially after a disappointing season. Everyone at the club is very calm and composed about the situation we\u2019re in right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
This was the first full week of training the club managed to have in Montreal since training camp began, with both the atmosphere and intensity improving as the week went on. <\/p>\n
The club is forced to put two heavily discouraging losses behind them as the challenge of a high-flying, Eastern Conference-leading New York Red Bulls squad awaits on Sunday. Montreal\u2019s worst losing streak to start a season happened last year, with three defeats in a row. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m positive, I\u2019m a positive guy. That\u2019s why I\u2019m here doing what I like; I have a passion for this team,\u201d said Donadel, whose vocal involvement in training has grown significantly. \u201cWe are motivated, so we don\u2019t need to find a way to get everyone motivated right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 5, 2026.<\/p>\n
Elias Grigoriadis, The Canadian Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cWe have worked hard in pre-season, staying for 40 days without seeing family, which is very difficult for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":517161,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194292],"tags":[49,48,2338],"class_list":["post-517160","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-montreal","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-montreal"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/517160","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=517160"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/517160\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/517161"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=517160"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=517160"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=517160"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}