This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Sandy • How would Jeff Cassar rate himself in Year 1 as the new boss? He wouldn't. The rookie head coach guided Real Salt Lake to a seventh-straight MLS playoff berth as the club earned 56 points and earned the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference.

But the sights and sounds of the end hovers, and will hover for quite some time.

"I don't think I'm ever going to get over that game," said Cassar Wednesday night during RSL's final media availability of 2014.

The 5-0 loss at L.A. in Leg 2 of the Western Conference semifinal shouldn't overshadow what the club accomplished this season, Cassar said, but the sting rightly remains. As RSL is now full-go in offseason mode, piecing together plans-of-action for various drafts and acquisition days over the next six weeks, Cassar said he believes the RSL core can be leaned upon once again to be a foundation of another run toward an MLS Cup.

"I think the players in the locker room, all the pieces are there, were there, are still there, but we have to realize that we can't have that kind of performance and still expect a different result," he explained.

But with so many mitigating factors this offseason, needing to adjust is also a must.

"Things change, opportunities happen and we have to adapt and that's always been a strong suit about this team, whether it's changing owners, changing head coaches, changing players," Cassar said. "[It's important] that we continue to keep moving the ship forward."

The transition from longtime assistant to head coach wasn't surprising, he said, but did present its share of difficulties in 2014. Cassar said, like any other coach or player, he must study the season, refine and polish approach going into 2015.

"I would say I have room for improvement, whether that's substitution, whether that's lineups, whether that's training, just need to improve everywhere," he said. "I could be doing this hopefully for 20 years and still need to be improving. But I would say that going through these experiences this year have made me a better coach and will make me a better coach, a better decision-maker, a better leader and if you don't go through them, you can't really learn, right? So I have a lot to learn, that's for sure."

Reporters asked Cassar if the weekly decision-making process with a veteran-laden locker room was difficult over the course of 2014.

"It's extremely hard. It's very hard," he said. "I care about these guys very much, not just as players, but even more as people. Obviously I've built a relationship with these guys for over eight years, known many of them before that, played with them, have been teammates with them, so decisions are never easy. All you can do is be honest, up front with everything and why the decisions were made and then hopefully they understand."

Throughout the season, Cassar at times drew some ire from fans who questioned his lineup decisions, substitution patterns or choice of players to send on the pitch. Nothing earth-shattering or all that surprising as the head coach is generally the main target of such criticisms.

"No one likes to hear things said about them, but I respect them," he said. "Some are warranted, some aren't. But that's part of the business. All I can say to that is I'm not a finished product as a coach. I will continue to get better, stronger, better leadership, better decision-making, but when you're in the moment of those decisions, they are well thought-out reasons why … Some happen, some come out and you look like a genius. Some don't, and you come out and you look like you don't know what you're doing. But I can tell you there's a lot of thought that goes into every [decision] that's being made."

-Chris Kamrani

Twitter: @chriskamrani