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Greg Hurst doesn鈥檛 shy away from his Scottish roots.

It鈥檚 certainly apparent in his accent. Unsurprisingly in his underdog pick for the World Cup, too. Or even how the New Mexico United forward goes about his business on the pitch.

Hurst, self-admittedly, isn鈥檛 always great at hiding his emotions. Sometimes, he knows that can get him into trouble. Other times, it can have the opposite effect.

At least, that鈥檚 what Hurst was hoping when he gathered his teammates on the field for a 鈥減retty real talk鈥� right after the 3-0 drubbing United received at rival Phoenix Rising FC in a regular-season matchup on April 11.

鈥淟ooking back on it, a couple of (the) boys just wanted to talk about it and there鈥檚 no point sometimes in keeping things to yourself,鈥� Hurst said Thursday ahead of Saturday鈥檚 rematch against Rising, at home, in the USL Cup. 鈥淚t鈥檚 good to get it out in the open, and that鈥檚 what competing and wanting to win is. 

鈥淭here鈥檚 going to be difficult times, there鈥檚 going to be good times and it鈥檚 all about, as harsh as you can be (in those moments), sticking together, and at no point I ever felt the group didn鈥檛 stick together.鈥�

Hurst鈥檚 main message? Don鈥檛 expect to just show up for matches and win. Training and playing for United is a job, treat it as such or others will. 

It sounds simple and rather standard 鈥� and it is 鈥� but those 鈥渉ealthy鈥� talks, as Hurst called them, can also be the most appreciative. 

鈥淚t鈥檚 good to have those conversions rather than leave it for later,鈥� forward Niall Reid-Stephen said. 鈥淭he conversation was about getting the guys back to where we want to be. Some take it personal, but we鈥檙e all grown men, so you gotta deal with it.鈥�

It鈥檚 a move manager Dennis Sanchez supports. The coaching staff can only say so much. At some point, any accountability or ownership has to be player-driven. They are, after all, the ones on the pitch.

Since that 3-0 loss, United has seen some benefits. The club has gone 3-2-2 overall and 2-1-2 in USL Championship play. One of those overall wins came against League One-side AV Alta FC in the USL Cup, while one of the losses came at Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC in the same tournament. Sanchez rested the majority of his starters in that 4-0 loss.

More importantly, New Mexico has earned eight points in the Western Conference standings, putting the club seventh on the 12-team table. United is currently tied with El Paso Locomotive FC with 14 total points. 

鈥淲e talked about taking more of a village approach, especially at the beginning of the year,鈥� Sanchez said. 鈥淎nd guys feeling like if it鈥檚 Greg one game or (defender) Kipp (Keller) one game, Niall, whoever it is, whoever feels in the moment that we鈥檙e not adhering to our standard, which I think has been a big focus of how we can find more consistency 鈥� and every time we step on the field to one, cherish it, be present, know this is a very difficult league, that鈥檚 something that we鈥檙e saying in here almost every single day on the field. 

鈥淚 think the more people that are saying it and recognizing those moments in real time, halftime, whenever it is, I have no problem and want to encourage those types of discussions. And we鈥檙e open in good times, too.鈥�

Honesty, sometimes, can be the best policy. How and when that鈥檚 communicated tends to help, too.

Just ask Hurst.

鈥淭his league is not easy, every game is a challenge, and I was super proud of how the boys reacted to that (talk),鈥� Hurst said. 鈥淚 think we鈥檝e seen that in recent weeks and it鈥檚 just continuing to understand that every game is a dogfight, every game is a battle and if we turn up ready to fight, we鈥檒l do it.鈥�

David Glovach covers New Mexico United and other sports for the Journal. Reach him at dglovach@abqjournal.com or via X .