Rising manager Rick Schantz apologizes for response about fans after loss

In the first question of his press conference after Sunday’s 5-1 home loss to the Tampa Bay Rowdies — tied for the worst home result in club history — Phoenix Rising manager Rick Schantz was asked whether fans deserved better. His response was an unsympathetic frown and shrug, drawing ire from the Rising fanbase.

On Tuesday, Schantz apologized for that ambivalence.

“I have empathy for the supporters,” Schantz said. “I have empathy for the fans. I know that they work all week and they want to come out and see us play.”

He added: “I don't want to shrug my shoulders because it all fell apart and it was all awful and I was embarrassed. I was embarrassed for the players.”

Those comments echoed a tweet sent out late Sunday night, in which Schantz wrote, “@PHXRisingFC I’m sorry for tonight. I want everyone to know these boys are working very hard to improve. We started well but fell apart. We must learn to compete in these moments. I must be better. I promise you we are humble and will work even harder.”

Schantz, though, didn’t back down from his post-game assessment that there was nothing wrong with his tactical decisions, which included a new-look 3-4-2-1 formation, deviating from Rising’s typical 4-3-3.

“Tactically, the plan was correct,” Schantz said. “The problem was not enough preparation time. Not enough implementation. Not enough confidence in the system. And I think that's where myself, I've gotta look long and hard at what we're doing as a coaching staff.”

Rising’s recent tinkering with different formations — they played in a 4-4-2 against Sacramento Republic in midweek — is, in large part, a result of recent injury woes. On Tuesday, Schantz said there will be more continuity in his formation once some critical players are fully healthy.

Defensive midfielder Kevon Lambert and midfielder Aodhan Quinn are both out, leaving Schantz with mostly attacking-minded players in the center of the pitch. Center-back James Musa, arguably the team’s best defender, is also injured.

Musa is now fully fit in training, according to Schantz, though his availability for Saturday’s trip to face New Mexico United remains in question.

Still, there was a more introspective mood at Rising’s Tuesday morning training, their first since Sunday’s loss.

“We have to deal with failure and Sunday obviously was one of the lowest points of this organization, but that's why we're here,” winger Santi Moar said. “We're here to handle these situations and get better.”

Moar was among those who led a players-only meeting when the team re-convened Tuesday. After that, the players had a meeting with Schantz and no other personnel.

“Just kind of reminded them what our values are and where we are as a club and an organization and what it means to be at Phoenix Rising,” Schantz said. “They came out ready to go. There's injured players that are trying their very best. They're trying to do everything they can and hopefully we can get some guys back and move forward. But I told all of them, I said, we'll have one day before training, a little bit of meetings and after that, we've gotta start thinking about New Mexico.”

After playing three games in the past eight days, Rising now enters a more typical schedule. Their next midweek game isn’t until a trip to Louisville City on July 20.

They’ll aim to use this stretch to rebound not only from Sunday’s loss but also from a stretch of three losses in four games. Over the past three seasons, Rising has averaged four losses a year in USL play. This year, they’ve reached that total in just 10 games, in addition to Wednesday’s loss in the U.S. Open Cup.

“Teams used to fear playing Phoenix Rising,” Schantz said. “And we've gotta get that back.”

Theo Mackie covers Arizona high school sports and Phoenix Rising FC. He can be reached by email at theo.mackie@gannett.com and on Twitter @theo_mackie.