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'It's Always Personal': Minnesota United Coach On Facing Former Team

ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) -- As he gets set to coach against his former team for the first time, Adrian Heath recalls his time in Orlando with mixed emotions.

"I take a great deal of satisfaction in what we did. But hey, we all move on," Heath said.

Heath was in Orlando for six years, and led that club's transition to Major League Soccer, just as he is now doing here. That ended when he was fired midway through last season. And he made it clear this week, he is still quite unhappy about the way that was handled.

"I think there's a way of doing things. Treating people with respect, that they deserve," Heath said. "And after six years of spending nearly every day, and I mean every day, working 24 hours a day, trying to build that club, I think I deserved a little bit more respect, shall we say, for the way that I got told."

Heath found out about his firing from reporters, before being told by ownership.

"I don't think that you guys in the media should know before I do. And that was the disappointment," Heath said.

So you'll have to forgive him if he's being honest about the fact that, yes, this matchup is more than just professional... it's personal too.

"I think it's always personal when it's your old club. You know, it's personal for players," Heath said.

"I think it makes me more determined. I'd like to think that I work hard at my job but maybe there's a bit more to prove to one or two people."

And there's nothing like proving it in a head-to-head matchup.

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