Timbers looking for win against Aston Villa

July 24, 2012, 5:33 pm

Voice of the Portland Timbers John Strong joined guest host Brian Wheeler on The Bald Faced Truth Tuesday to discuss the team's recent struggles.

The skid began a few months ago with a loss to amateur team Cal FC and recently climaxed with a 5-0 road loss to FC Dallas last Saturday.

"It's highlighted that the problems that exist do run deep," said Strong in reference to the team's issues extending beyond the recently fired John Spencer.

The road to redemption starts Tuesday against Aston Villa, a team that narrowly avoided relegation a year ago but is still one of the most well known in the English Premier League.

"Even though it's not a counting game and it's going to be a different atmosphere, this team just desperately needs something to go right," Strong said.

Ultimately, though, the MLS season is what matters to the team.

"It's all about going out on Saturday night and doing it against Chivas USA, and doing it game after that, and the game after that," Strong said.

An interesting part of the conversation was about how or if Gavin Wilkinson's approach as an interim coach changes knowing he will go back to a General Manager role in the near future. Listen to the interview: