With the 2025 TELUS Canadian Championship Final against the Vancouver Whitecaps looming, Vancouver FC team captain Callum Irving has been telling teammates this isn't the time to make big changes.
"You all have your routines, and you all have your preparations, and you need to stick to that," is the advice Irving has been giving.
"It's just 90 minutes of football."
Irving and VFC interim Head Coach Martin Nash were taking questions from reporters Monday afternoon.
For Nash, a former Whitecaps midfielder, it's the "fourth or fifth time" he has coached against his former team.
"They're the best team we'll face this year, by far," Nash said.
"It is a tall task for our guys."
It is the first time Vancouver Whitecaps FC will face another Metro Vancouver team in a competitive match, as they host Vancouver FC on Wednesday, Oct. 1 at BC Place.
It marks the first time a Canadian Premier League (CPL) team has reached the final or the Voyageurs Cup, which will also give the winner a spot in the 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup.
Whitecaps FC enter the match as three-time defending Canadian champions.
"We're going to keep the players as calm as we can," Nash remarked.
"We've got play as quick and clean as we can."
Nash and Irving noted VFC has improved, recording back-to-back wins leading up to the Whitecaps game.
"Its nice that we're in a good moment," is how Nash put it.
"They're [players] all buying into what we're doing."
Irving agreed, saying over the last few weeks, "There's been a real commitment to what we're trying to do."
"I haven't had too much work to do [as netminder in recent games] and that's a testament to the guys in front of me."
Asked about nerves, Irving commented "I think those nerves are more excited nerves than nervous."
"For us, it's a really fun challenge. It's two teams playing the same sport for 90 minutes. We'll respect them but we will be coming in to win."
Before the 7 p.m. game starts, two buses will be loading up VFC fans at Willoughby Community Park for the 40-kilomtre trip to BC Place.
