VANCOUVER — Any Vancouver Whitecaps player thinking about drifting through the final games of this Major League Soccer season might not have a job next year.
The message from Whitecaps president Bob Lenarduzzi is clear. Nobody on Vancouver’s current roster is guaranteed a job next season.
“Even the players who are established, you can’t sit back and assume that they are safe,” Lenarduzzi said Wednesday.
“They need to go out and they need to perform to the best of their abilities, match in and match out.
“I am sure other clubs are interested in those players. If they really want to be with us, they have to illustrate that. That is something we are going to be looking (at) between now and the end of the season.”
The Whitecaps have a 3-9-13 record leaving them at the bottom of the MLS table. Some of the frustration has begin to show as the team struggles through its inaugural season in North American’s premium soccer league.
Striker Eric Hassli, one of Vancouver’s two designated players, apologized to his teammates Tuesday for an incident in the club’s 2-1 loss to Portland on the weekend.
After being substituted late in the match the big Frenchman, who is tied for third in the league with 10 goals, walked to the dressing room instead of joining the other players on the bench.
A contrite Hassli later admitted he made a mistake.
“He was up front with the apology right away,” said Lenarduzzi. “More importantly, his teammates seem to feel the same way.
“They didn’t like it (Hassli’s actions) much, I didn’t like it. But we are prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt this time.”
Losing has taken its toll on the team. There have been a couple fights at practice. One involved Omar Salgado, the 17-year-old forward who Vancouver picked first overall in the MLS draft.
“If the players weren’t frustrated I would be very disappointed,” said Lenarduzzi. “You can’t be happy with not getting results.”
The Whitecaps have nine games remaining this season, including Saturday’s match at Empire Field against the Houston Dynamo.
The team has already announced Martin Rennie will be head coach in 2012.
That will allow Tommy Soehn to return to his job of director of soccer operations.
Soehn took over as coach when Teitur Thordarson was fired just 12 games into the season.
The Whitecaps may still make some roster changes, Lenarduzzi said.
The international transfer window is closed but the team can make trades.
“If there are areas of the squad that need upgrading we would definitely look at an opportunity to do that,” he said.
Any thoughts the Whitecaps have of signing former Manchester United midfielder Owen Hargreaves have been put “on the back burner,” Lenarduzzi said.
West Bromwich Albion is interested in signing the Canadian-born Hargreaves, who has struggled with injuries.
“He needs to decide what it is he wants to do,” said Lenarduzzi. “He is exploring those options abroad right now.
“We are focusing on the players that are with us and possible trade options that are available. If he decides he wants to play in North America, then we would definitely be interested in discussing that possibility.”
Struggling on the pitch hasn’t affected Vancouver’s ability to draw fans. The team has a season ticket base of around 15,500 and an average attendance of 20,580 at Empire Field leaves the Whitecaps third in the MLS.
“The faith of the supporters has not wavered,” said CEO Paul Barber. “It’s fantastic given we’ve had a difficult season that hasn’t gone as well as we had hoped or wanted it too.”
The club has started selling season tickets for next year and response has been strong, said Barber.
The Whitecaps will play their final four games this year at the newly renovated B.C. Place Stadium. The building’s soccer configuration is around 21,000 but that can be expanded.
“We want to experience B.C. Place before we fix the capacity going forward,” said Barber. “If things take off and demands go up, then we will have a little more flexibility.”