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“I’ve had a very close relationship with Lutz (Pfannenstiel) since I walked through the door on day one, four years ago,� Critchley said. “I’m a highly ambitious, highly driven coach, and I expressed to him on day one what my goals were. One day it was to sit in this chair. Very excited to be here, but obviously I was thriving for the opportunity to just express myself as a coach and try to again turn this team around and put them in the right foot moving forward.�

Critchley found himself in that chair, the City SC head coaching chair, possibly a bit quicker than he expected. The firing of Olof Mellberg as head coach on Tuesday, just seven months after being hired, created an unexpected opening and Critchley, who was in his first season as coach of City2, the club’s team in the MLS Next Pro developmental league, was asked to step in.

His first game on the sidelines for the first team comes Saturday when City SC faces San Jose at Energizer Park at 1:30 p.m. Critchley inherits a team that hasn’t won in its past 11 MLS games but he potentially will have some things that Mellberg didn’t have for the last month of his time here, namely Eduard Lowen, Henry Kessler and Tomas Totland. Lowen is returning from the latest of his family-related issues, while Kessler and Totland are returning from injuries. How long any of them can go is unknown; Kessler has played 12 minutes in the last month and a half, Lowen has played 66 minutes in the past two months and Totland hasn’t played since March 15, when the team was still undefeated.

If there’s such a thing as Old School City SC, Critchley is it. He was one of the first hires on the sporting side at City SC, hired by Pfannenstiel as one of the original academy coaches. He coached there, then was assigned to work the academy’s top players and this year was put in charge of City2. He is a true believer in the City SC way of life: he will bring back the team’s high press and go back to the four-man backline, rather than the three-center back formation that Mellberg used. City SC’s preferred formation under Bradley Carnell and John Hackworth was a 4-2-3-1, and you can expect to see a lot of that.

Mellberg ran Tuesday’s practice — the firing process hadn’t been completed by the time the team hit the field that day — with Critchley taking over on Wednesday and working on changing some things.

“Tried to bring back a game model and a style of play that will entertain the fans,� he said on Thursday. “Obviously, for us, it’s about being aggressive without the ball. It’s about getting the lines pushed up high, and then with the ball, we want the fans on the end of their seat. We want them to be entertained. So trying to, obviously, talk about the game model, talk about the philosophy of the club has been the first (topic) on the field. Then off the field, trying to build relationships with the players. I like to build relationships with the players I work with. So that’s been something for now the last 48 hours, I’ve spent a lot of time with as well.�

Players haven’t been available to talk to the media since the coaching change, but Critchley said that spirits were high and the players were embracing the changes. Regardless of how tactics and roster selections play out, Critchley has a more effusive and outgoing personality than Mellberg. And in a season that has seen so much defeat, any injection of happiness is welcome.

“There’s been a lot of smiles, a lot of positive energy,� Critchley said. “I think they’ve understood very clearly what we’re looking for, even as early as Saturday. So the energy has been good. The energy has been excellent from the players, excellent from everybody around the club. I felt a tremendous amount of support right now from the club, and obviously a lot of people outside the club as well. So I feel supported, and I think we’re all we’re all ready for it.�

It’s not just the players and staff that can use some perking up. It hasn’t been that fun for the fans either. In seven home MLS games, City SC has scored just five goals, getting shut out three times. In Critchley’s last game as coach of City2 (for now), City2 scored six goals.

“We want the support behind us,� Critchley said. “We want the fans behind us. I think the best way we can do that is entertain them and entertain them with the ball. For me, it means a lot of control of the game, but also a balance of very, very quick attacks without the ball. I think we’ve all seen good success at this club when we press the opponent, when we’re very aggressive against the ball.�

Considering the improvement the team had under John Hackworth in his run as an interim coach in 2024, which ended in him not getting the job, Critchley would seem to have his work cut out for him if he’s to get the job on a more permanent basis.

“Right now, my main focus has been, honestly, on Saturday,� Critchley said, “what can I do in 72 hours to go and win this game for the team? ... Yes, it’s a great opportunity for me as a coach. I would look forward to (being the permanent coach). I would be very excited for that. I’ve felt very prepared for this opportunity for a long time, but I can honestly say all my focus right now is on the players and three points on Saturday.�