Gavin Wilkinson:

“Everyone’s looked lively and trained well. We know what’s at hand. The Cascadia Cup is obviously something that’s very, very important to us. I think the players understand that. It’s been part of the pre-game video already, that happened today. I’m sure we’ll turn up.”

“It’s [the Cascadia Cup] everything right now. When you start to look at it, it’s a way for us to repay the fans for showing up game-in-game-out and giving it their all. It’s a chance to repay them, as I said. In the Cascadia Cup, the rivalry is one thing but to win the games is very, very important to us.”

“I’m not going to boost [Vancouver's] confidence by telling you what we think [their strengths] are. They’ve got some lively front players. They’ve got a little bit of speed out wide. Camilo, he’s creative. They’ve got an older team, just an old team in MLS in general terms. For us, we’ve got the youth, the enthusiasm, the home crowd, hopefully the energy levels. And we’ve definitely got some talented players, so we need everyone to turn up, as we did in New York, and have a go at them.”

“We’ve prepared for [playing without Diego Chará] this week as best we can. Losing Diego is a loss. I think he’s a very, very important player for us and I think he’s a very talented player. But you’re going to have moments like this throughout the season with various bits and pieces. For us as a team it’s a matter of keeping the group strong with a player coming in and performing well. And if a player comes in and performs well, we’ve got a difficult decision to make. You look at Sal Zizzo, he wasn’t even in the squad of 18 a couple of weeks ago and has come in and done extremely well. Players get rewarded for good performances and it’ll be no different for who replaces Diego.”

“You’ll find out tomorrow, probably an hour before kick-off [whether or not Bright Dike will start]. Bright did well last week, he scored a goal and it was his first start in MLS. This is a home game and it’s a little bit different. But I do think we can have a go at their back line and look to get in behind them. We have a few options. We know what we’re doing but you’ll have to wait, I’m sorry.”

“Kalif [Alhassan] is looking a lot better this week. He had an injury that kept him out for the last two games and with that he lost a little bit of fitness. It’s important for us to get him back to pretty much match speed. He’s been working extremely hard, doing double-days every day with our fitness coach, so he’s looking a lot, lot better. He’ll be out of question for this game but will be back in contention for the next one, I’m sure.”

“So far, out of the Cascadia Cup, we’re on four points having played two games and the other teams are on four points having played three games. So this is a chance for us to place a level of emphasis and importance on something that’s very important to us and very important to the fans. It’s a way to show them that the season isn’t lost.”

“It’s a matter of pride for the team that we’ve got here. Some of the players today were saying, looking at the videos of some of the other teams, some of the defending is comparable to ours but we keep getting punished on a lot of mistakes. It’s important for us to stay unified as a group. This [the Cascadia Cup] is something we can wrap our hands around and do well with. For us it’s a very, very important competition. Even if the season was going extremely well, this ranks as very, very important to the players and the organization.”

“I think it’s a level of frustration with the players [having Chará miss another game due to yellow cards accumulation]. Diego wears his heart on his sleeve and for him it’s probably a little bit harder. I think he now is being watched by referees and there’s things that are going against him, and yellows that are being given to him, that maybe another player in the league wouldn’t be receiving. You start to look at who’s leading the league in fouls and Diego’s up there. A lot of them, it’s just that he’s very, very gritty as a player. He’ honest. He consistently puts pressure on the opposition. When you do that for 90 minutes, and referees think that after three or four times, it’s persistent behavior, then it results in a yellow. I think with Diego it’s unfortunate. It’s just the way that he plays. We love what we get with Diego. If there’s one thing we would change, it would be that he’s a little bit more mature in the way that he challenges.”

“Kosuke [Kimura] is wearing a mask today. He looks better. He’ll be available for tomorrow.”

“He [José Valencia] has been out running every single day. He’s joined up in the warm-ups and he’s been doing extensive running as well. He’s a very powerful individual. He’s three days into training and just the way he moves, he glides. He really is a thoroughbred of an athlete in every sense. We’re hoping to get him back for a couple of reserve games this year, just to be able to critique him. No chance [for Sunday]. We’ll probably take another three or four weeks with Jose before we throw him into a reserve game.”

Jack Jewsbury:

“I think, come the final ten games of the season, we’re obviously disappointed in where we stand in the playoff standings. But for us there’s another trophy in the Cascadia Cup. It’s become important, not only for us as players, but for the fans and the organization as well.”

“I think there’s an energy and guys are buzzing around the field, especially for the first fifteen minutes just due to the environment and the energy that’s in the stadium. Whether that’s here or on the road, you know that’s going to be part of the rivalry game. Guys are up for it. It’s exciting. I think for us, we’ve still got a sour taste in our mouth. Last time they were here, getting the late goal and sneaking out of here with a point in one that we thought we deserved all three. Tomorrow will be another game and we’re excited about it and ready to go.”

“They have some dangerous guys and guys we need to be aware of. Obviously [Darren] Mattocks and his speed and athleticism is someone we will focus on, and have focused on. But at the end of the day, like I’ve always said, it’s more about us and the way we approach the game than our opponents.”

“It’s frustrating for us because I think, the last three or four games especially, whether it’s been here or on the road, there have been some really, really strong performances, individually and collectively from certain guys. To not get anything out of them, it becomes very frustrating. But at the end of the day, I think if you continue to do those game-in-game-out, and you’re consistent in those performances, the points will come.”