Bradley Wright-Phillips wants Red Bulls to be more clinical in postseason

Bradley-Wright Phillips says that he and his New York Red Bulls sometimes let the pressure of the playoffs get to them and they need to be more composed when it comes to the postseason.

The Red Bulls were eliminated by the Montreal Impact in the MLS Cup Eastern Conference semifinals after a regular-season campaign that saw them finish in first place in the division.

But for the second year in a row, the team failed to find success in the playoffs and that has left Wright-Phillips feeling frustrated.

"We didn't improve enough from last season to this season," Wright-Phillips said. "When we get to this point of the season and we get into the playoffs we have to realize what these games mean.

"We have to know we can't concede cheap goals and we have to know we have to be more clinical in front of goal and for the last two years we haven't done those two things well.

"It's almost like we get to the [postseason] and we've given everything, but we almost don't know how to take the next step. Since I've been here we haven't done well in the U.S. Open Cup either, so it's almost like we aren't a cup team and we have to change that.

"We are good in the league and we know how to win games, but in the Cup or the playoffs we just haven't done great."

Wright-Phillips said watching teams that were less successful in the regular season advance in the playoffs only adds to the frustration the team feels.

"I just really don't like that dynamic of being good in the regular season but not in the cups," Wright-Phillips said. "I feel sorry for [FC] Dallas. I think they were the best team in the league and then they get knocked out straight away.

"After you've invested so much in the season and you were by far the better team because you've proved it over a longer period and then you don't win MLS Cup so it's seen as having a disaster of a season and that's rubbish."

The striker, who finished with 24 goals to lead MLS last season, puts some of the blame on the team's mentality, and the pressure they feel to deliver for the fans.

He said: "I think it's partly how we are as a team, we might get almost too riled up and then we go away from what we are supposed to be doing. We just really want to please the fans and so there's a lot of pressure there.

"I know me personally, I just get really amped up and just go all out without thinking sometimes, so I think we need to find a way to be calm and have a lot more poise and just understand where we are.

"I have to get more clinical. I have to look at it like I'm only going to have one chance and I have to take that chance."