Pacific FC head coach James Merriman spoke with the media on Tuesday afternoon ahead of his side’s CPL Playoff encounter with York United FC on Wednesday night.

The Tridents, who finished fifth in the regular season, head to York Lions Stadium to play fourth-place York in a rematch of last year’s 4-vs-5 clash — although this time in Toronto rather than Langford.

Merriman spoke all about his side’s road to the postseason, which kicks off on Oct. 23 at 7:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. PT, live on OneSoccer. Here are some of the highlights of what he had to say.

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On Pacific’s late-season form to qualify for the playoffs:

“The team really came together in the last six weeks to make a push for the playoffs. We knew where we were at, we knew what we needed to do to try and get ourselves above the line and qualify, and we spoke a lot about it. That was one of our goals, obviously, to start the season, but also one of the minimum standards for us as a club and an organization. You can see it in some of the players that have been here for a long time and the staff, everyone just giving a little bit more to the team to try and lift us and make sure we finish at least in a way where we can get into the playoffs and give us a chance to win something.”

On deciding which of Emil Gazdov or Sean Melvin to start in goal:

“It’s an extremely difficult situation and decision. That’s exactly why we brought Sean in; not only is he from the Island but he’s got great experience, he’s got great character and consistency day in and day out in the environment; whether he’s starting, not starting, he has a really strong mentality. That’s why he’s able to step in and do a great job for us in the last couple games here. We need to make the decision who steps in in our first playoff match; absolutely, it’s not an easy decision.”

On Moses Dyer and Dario Zanatta, and how Pacific’s attack has evolved:

“We struggled with it all season long, it was really difficult to find rhythm and form and consistency up top. We had new players come into the team, we had international duties, we had suspensions, and we never really caught rhythm or form in an attacking sense. We created chances but nobody was able to get into a run of form.

“It’s been really important for Dario to lean on Moses, but you’ve also seen Adonijah [Reid] get fit and healthy and start to get involved as well, and obviously Reon Moore. These are the four attacking players that we really need to create those goals for us, to create a constant threat, and not only that but give us energy and keep our press alive.”

On what it takes to win in the CPL Playoffs:

“I think our group is battle-tested. We’ve been through it. We’ve got players in the team, we’ve got a staff that have had to travel quickly in short circumstances, deal with different situations; guys like Kunle Dada-Luke, Thomas Meilleur-Giguère, Josh Heard, they’ve been through it. I think they bring a mentality to the locker room and to the team that it doesn’t necessarily affect us anymore, we don’t get wrapped up in it. …

“You have to manage the game, and all the different moments that come with the game — the emotional side of it as well, obviously. Know and understand that you have 90-plus minutes or extra time to get a result. Sometimes you’ll play in different ways, we cannot be naïve in our football; we need to make sure we’re playing at the right times, maybe minimizing some risk at other times as well. It’s really about managing the game, it’s all about the detail and making sure we stay true to the match plan.”