MNT by Tim Ream on Apr 27, 2017

U.S. Men’s National Team center back Tim Ream is in the midst of an incredible run with Fulham FC, helping his team reach the precipice of the English Football League Championship’s promotion playoffs. Appearing in all 23 of the club’s matches since the New Year, the St. Louis, Mo., native has been a lynchpin in the back for the Cottagers, propelling them all the way up to sixth place in the standings thanks to a recent four-match win streak. Should the London side maintain its place following the final two matchdays, Fulham will advance to the Promotion Playoffs, where four teams will vie for a spot in the Premier League next season. Coming off a big 4-1 away win at Huddersfield Town on Saturday, Ream and Fulham can virtually clinch a playoff berth with a victory this Saturday at home against Brentford.

Below, Ream describes the evolution of the season at Craven Cottage and what it’s like to be part of a promotion push.

When you’re playing in the Championship, everyone has aspirations of being promoted to the Premier League. The Premier League is the end all, be all of soccer. It’s the biggest, most widely televised league in the world and it’s also the best. It’s about your life, your job and your livelihood, and so being in the Premier League is tops. That’s where you want to be.

Fulham is no different, and it’s a place where until a few years ago, this proud club founded in 1879 had been playing.

Quite simply put, the League Championship is a grind. With a total of 24 teams, you play eight more games than in the Premiership. Generally that means starting in the middle of fall, you play a schedule of Saturday-Tuesday-Saturday throughout the season. We start the first week in August and finish the first week in May, unless you make the playoffs in which case it could be all the way to the end of May. Now add in the two cup competitions – the FA Cup and League Cup - and you could be looking at 55 games. With all those matches, you’re lucky if you have one full session a week with the whole team. Another reason to want to get promoted!

If I’m being honest, I don’t think going into this season anybody here thought this would be a year we could push for the playoffs and promotion. Last season we finished 20th and 17th the year before that, so everyone was just looking to right the ship, finish mid-table and have a solid year with the goal of really going for promotion next year.

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We started out very well before the first international break in September, when the National Teams went and played in World Cup Qualifying. After the first five games, we were in third or fourth position at that point and doing well. It’s so early in the season and you can’t get over-excited, but we were happy with that. Then we went through a difficult period through the next two months where we were drawing more games – not necessarily losing and playing bad - but drawing a lot of games that we should have won. When you’re only getting one point instead of three, that starts to add up – or not, as it were.

Gradually things changed as the season went on, and around Christmas time we really found some consistency. In this league, you have to find consistency – if you’re drawing a game here, losing a game there, you’re not going to get anywhere and you’re going to be in limbo. You’re not going up or down – you’re just there.

READ MORE: Tim Ream and Fulham on verge of promotion playoff spot

The team found consistency around that time, and so did I. Before Christmas, I was having a tough time, going in and out of the lineup. Since then, I’ve been heavily involved in most games, and the ones I wasn’t made sense. In March, I missed a game after having traveled back from the U.S. National Team, which is one the realities of playing for your country. Normally during an international window, you play on Tuesday for the National Team – in this case in Panama – and then make the long trek to London. I didn’t arrive back until Thursday, which is a tough turnaround and only came on at the very end of the game. A few weeks ago, I picked up a small ankle injury that also limited me to a substitute role against Ipswich Town.

Getting regular time has been so important, because in this league more than any, if you can get a run of games and multiple starts in a row where you’re playing well and the team is playing well, the confidence level just flows throughout the entire team. If you’re not confident it’s so rough and tumble, it’s so physically and mentally demanding that if you’re not concentrated and assured in your ability and the guys around you, you’re going to have some difficulties.

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So, we’ve gone on a decent run since the new year and the results since the start of April have amped everything up. Four straight wins against Ipswich Town, Norwich City, Aston Villa and then this past week a huge 4-1 victory at Huddersfield Town, who are also in the playoff running, lifted us into the sixth place and the final playoff spot.

The results are fulfilling, but you know what? They’ve also been fun.

There are times that you can say, “it’s a job, it’s not fun anymore”, but I can honestly say that this is the most fun I’ve had playing soccer since before I was a pro. It’s fun because of the playing aspect, but the other part is the pressure – it’s more than I’ve ever felt doing anything. I’m definitely feeding off it, and I think the team is as well.

Why the pressure? Beyond what happens on the field, what makes this so important is what it means to our supporters. They make the club tick. Without a doubt the players are important; we are the product on the field, but the fans are the most important. They’re here every year. No matter if I’m going to be here in two or three years or not, they will be. The club is in their blood. You’re starting to get that in M.L.S., but over here soccer is life. Football is on TV, it’s on the radio, it’s in the papers, it’s everywhere. That adds to it.

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I personally feel that it’s a circle. The fans feed off our results and the style of play, but at the same time we feed off them. People back home likely won’t know a team like Huddersfield, but when we travel there and have more than 1,500 fans make a four-hour journey to support us at an away game that could have massive implications on the playoff places, that’s huge. It gives guys confidence that these people are behind us – screaming, chanting, doing whatever it takes to get us going. It’s our responsibility to give back to them and give them something to cheer and be happy about.

They add to the pressure, but it’s at such a good place right now. The fans have come out all year for us. It’s not just since we’ve been doing well. I think the last five or six weeks, there’s been a noticeable difference because everyone is starting to realize how special this season could end up being. Guys have been running through brick walls to get to where we are and to put ourselves in a position to give these fans what they want and what they deserve.

Having said all that, the job isn’t done. We haven’t clinched our place yet. We play Brentford at home on Saturday, and with them being another London club this will be a derby game, which is another way of saying a local rivalry. On top of playoff implications there are bragging rights, and the last couple years they’ve done a lot better than we have in the league.

Right now we’re in a position where a win against them doesn’t fully clinch it for us. Leeds United are three points behind us in seventh place, but we have a huge advantage in goal difference on them, so if we do come away with three points, it’s virtually a lock that we’re in.

EFL CHAMPIONSHIP PROMOTION PLAYOFF TABLE – As of April 27 Pos. Team GP W L D Pts. GF GA GD 3 Huddersfield 44 25 13 6 81 56 53 +3 4 Reading 44 24 13 7 79 63 62 +1 5 Sheffield Wednesday 44 23 12 9 78 58 43 +15 6 Fulham 44 21 10 13 76 82 55 +27 7 Leeds United 44 22 15 7 73 57 42 +14

You can’t let that creep into your head. If you start trying to look ahead, that’s when you’re going to slip up. This league is ruthless like that – you can’t look past any single team, and if you do you’re in trouble. Brentford are going to want to spoil the party. They’re going to want to get one over on us and keep us from getting in the playoffs for another week. It’s a derby, and at this point we’re more worried about that than the playoffs. We want those bragging rights as do the fans. They really want them, and it just so happens that it coincides with getting into the playoffs.

If we do make the playoffs, one thing is certain: what you’ve done in the regular season means nothing. It’s no longer about getting points. It’s all about battling one game at a time. You’re not looking over your shoulder, you’re not looking at the standings. It’s get through two games in the semifinal to get to Wembley Stadium. Once you’re there, the stakes are at their highest because not only are you playing in front of 90,000 fans, not only do you have your supporters' hopes pinned on that match, but it’s also the richest game in football as the winner stands to make at least £170 million for being promoted.

That is the ultimate goal.

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