Heron Talk
Inter Miami midfielder Jay Chapman has enjoyed a strong start to the season, appearing in three consecutive matches and starting in the last two. The Canadian has already equalled his number of starts from 2020 and made himself an important part of the squad as the team has strung together an unbeaten run through his appearances.
“I definitely think in the offseason I took a different approach to how I kind of viewed other offseasons...I just kind of took a step back in the offseason and decided some changes I wanted to make this year and there were some pretty big changes. I changed my diet, the little things outside fútbol that I’ve felt have helped me a lot at the beginning of this year,” said Chapman.
“Then I also just changed a little bit of my mentality and I think I’ve come into this season trying to be, as Phil [Neville] said, a bigger [presence] in the locker room, whether that's trying to help the younger players and just trying to be more of a presence for everybody and I think in doing that its helped me be more focused and kind of approach everyday with a really good mentality trying to be a big part of this team. I think it's been a few mental changes that I’ve kind of tried to approach this year with and so far I think it’s been doing well for me and I just have to keep going.”
Injuries to notable players may have opened the door for Chapman to enter the starting XI, but his mentality has allowed him to capitalize on the opportunity.
“We’ve had some injuries to some key guys as well and you know nobody feels sorry for us, so it's all just next man up. We just want to try and do the best job that we can [with] whoever’s on the field.”
Head coach Phil Neville has also expressed his admiration for Chapman, and revealed conversations he had with the midfielder that helped emphasize how important his role would be for the team.
“I’m really pleased with him. I think he has a manager that trusts him, he has a manager that believes in him, he has a manager that wants to give him opportunities. We speak all the time, me and Jay, because I’ve put a lot of challenge on him from the start of the season,” said Neville.
“The consistency of his play is going to be the biggest challenge. I think he’s showing that now. On Sunday he had to sacrifice himself for the team. He started as a number 10, then he went back into midfield. He put in an awful lot of work in for the team. Now it’s about building those minutes and momentum and getting him to be more impactful in games...I think hopefully now he believes or he feels the trust of the manager, and he feels that he’s a massive part of this team”
Next for Chapman will be an opportunity to face a team from his home country, as Inter Miami will take on CF Montréal at DRV PNK Stadium Wednesday. The match also represents a quick turnaround for Inter Miami following a 1-1 draw against Atlanta United on Sunday.
“It’s definitely one of those weeks that you have to mentally be strong for. Obviously it’s two days after a really tough game at one o’clock in the afternoon in Florida, so your body’s going to feel it. I think it’s just as much about being a professional on the field as much as off, it’s eating the right things after, sleeping a lot...I think everybody knows what it takes in these tough three-game stretches in one week, so we will be ready for the game...We're a motivated team and every game we play we want to go and win...We know how big of a stretch this is as well.”
With the recent announcement that DRV PNK Stadium will operate at full capacity beginning on May 29, Chapman is also looking ahead to experiencing La Familia in full voice.
“I saw it on my way to training today and it put a smile on my face to be honest with you. It’s been so tough with COVID, you know as a player especially I’ve played in this league for seven years most of them apart from last year it's been full stadiums. That's what you look forward to as a player, right? Those are the games you get up for...Fans are what we need as players to kind of get us out of the tough moments in the game.
“The fact that we are going to be able to have all of La Familia in the stadium at the same time is going to be incredible. None of us have seen it yet, we’ve seen glimpses obviously and even that, I think we're right up there with the best fans in the league and that's at half capacity, if that. So, I think once we can have everybody in the stadium, it's going to be a fortress and I don’t think anybody is going to want to come here and play.”
