MEMPHIS, Tenn. – After scoring victories in the club’s last two games against the soon-to-be playoff bound Charlotte Independence and Birmingham Legion FC, there was a decided spring in the step for Memphis 901 FC and its fans as it entered the offseason earlier this month.

For current Interim Head Coach Ben Pirmann, who took charge of the squad midway through September, the lessons the club gained from those two contests was aided by the feeling of a fresh start for the squad as he looked to put his imprint on the club after serving as assistant to former Head Coach Tim Mulqueen.

“I think part of it is natural, maybe a new lease on life for a couple of players here and there, positive energy going into those last two games,” Pirmann told WMC’s Cassie Carlson on Monday. “Then I think tactically we really wanted to play with the ball at our feet a little bit more, build out of the back and be a bit more aggressive with our build-up phases of the game.

“The second piece is a mental capacity. We really wanted to encourage positivity and encourage them to play with bravery, don’t be worried about making mistakes, be fearless, which is again maybe a little bit easier said when we’re eliminated from the playoffs in the six-to-eight games before, but we really put a focus on being courageous, trying to play a good brand of football and be aggressive going forward. I think especially the last two games but even in parts of the Louisville game we really showed we were able to do that.”

That mental aspect might be the biggest takeaway Memphis’ players take into the offseason as the club prepares for its third year. 901 FC was in a way closer to being part of the playoffs than the final standings in a competitive Group F might have indicated, but the team’s inability to sustain leads ended up proving fatal to its chances. Memphis was tied for the most points dropped from a winning position in the Championship alongside Atlanta United 2 in the 2020 regular season, letting 15 points slip away in sometimes agonizing fashion.

Maybe the most notable? A pair of 3-2 defeats to the Charlotte Independence on August 15 and North Carolina FC on September 13, or a 2-2 draw with Birmingham Legion FC on August 22 that saw Birmingham pull level in the eighth minute of stoppage time from the penalty spot. Games of those nature are the ones Pirmann believes his side is going to have to learn from the most, but in its final two outings there were signs Memphis was on the right path to do so.

“We had a lot of good performances where we didn’t see games out, we had a lot of performances where we had some good results, especially at the end of the season,” he told Carlson. “I think trying to find the positives from its where you try to build off those performances – whether it was individually, guys like Cal Jennings scoring a lot of goals, or collectively as a group the last couple of games really playing a really good style of football moving forward.

“We’ve really got to put our best foot forward going into the 2021 season, learning from some mistakes and building off the positive moments.”

If the playing principals Pirmann has looked to implement can be further developed, it could quickly see Memphis’ on-field product match the fervent support the club has seen in the stands at AutoZone Park. Almost three years since the club’s launch, the city’s buy-in to what 901 FC’s culture represents continues to excite.

“It’s crazy,” Pirmann told Carlson. “Whether you go down the street to the Brass Door – I live in South Main – or you go out to East Memphis, people have really bought into 901 FC and the culture of our club. You have soccer fans, and then you have people who may not be soccer fans but love Memphis, and I think you combine those two aspects you get a really high-profile fanbase.”