DC United is midway through September and is entering the final 10 matches of the regular season. The club is hoping to get another win this weekend against Charlotte FC to once again approach the playoff line.

One of the men in the midfield who has played all but 10 minutes in the 9 matches since the end of the World Cup break is Andre Dozzell, who signed with the Black-and-Red on May 6th but wasn’t able to make his debut until July 22nd. The 27-year-old English player logged an assist in the team’s 2-1 win over Toronto FC on July 25th and has started in each of the matches since he joined the team.

Dozzell spoke exclusively to The District Press about his transition from the English Championship, what it’s been like adapting to Major League Soccer and life in DC, and what the club needs to do to finally break the playoff drought.

(Note: This interview has been edited slightly for length and clarity.)

District Press: What has the transition been like for you coming over from England to [Major League Soccer]?  

Andre Dozzell: Yeah, I mean, I’ve really enjoyed it so far. I’ve enjoyed the challenge. I think the league is growing. I’ve been watching it for a few years before I come over and it was always something I wanted to do. And then of course this opportunity came up and I didn’t want to turn it down. I want to experience it.

I think the league is really good. I think the standard is very good technically. I think the players are top and yeah, I would have liked to have got a few more wins so far. But, we’re on a journey because if you take the past few seasons where the team’s been, you can see that they’re taking steps. And yeah, it’s not going to be easy, it’s not going to be quick, but you can see the team is improving.  

DP: You mentioned you had watched the league before you came over, so you knew a little bit about it. But what was your perception of Major League Soccer before you came and how has it changed since you’ve been in the middle of it?  

AD: I think it’s better than I thought it was going to be. The standard of players, it’s physical. You got athletes, whereas I’ve been playing in the championship and it’s very physical. So it’s sort of something I’m used to. But yeah, it’s just adapting. I’ve had to play centerback a few times, which I’ve never done before in my career. But, I’m just happy to play wherever the coach sees me best. And like I said, I’ve been really enjoying it.  

DP: What has been maybe the biggest adjustment for you in moving to the United States into Major League Soccer? And you can feel free to say, “Starting your first game in Houston in 105 degree heat.” 

AD: Yeah, I think that is one of them. The weather has been very hot, you know, travel wise as well. Flying to games the day before, I think it all makes a difference, whereas in the Championship we never flew to games. It would always be a maximum four hour bus journey. That’s something you have to adjust to. But no, there’s nothing really that’s been too bad. Just playing every week. And there’s been a few midweek games, which I’ve been used to as well in the Championship because the Championship’s relentless. There’s so many games. So I’ve enjoyed it. And yeah, I love when there’s a three game week because there’s nothing better than playing games.  

DP: And you’ve mentioned time and time again the grind of the EFL Championship and how this grind is a little bit different. You just mentioned the heat, you know, the extra travel. What have you needed to adjust to personally as you kind of navigate [the season]?

AD: I think you have to take care what you do outside of football, whether that’s sleep, doing ice baths, getting massages and stuff like that. You have to be very professional because if you’re not, then it will catch up with you. That’s something I’ve had to focus on more over here. But another one is obviously being away from family. Obviously, I’ve got my own family and they’ve come and they’re really enjoying it. But you know, it’s the first time that my family can’t just come watch a game every week. And obviously my dad, being an ex-footballer, he loves to watch me play. So it’s a bit different for him as well. So that’s something I’ve had to adjust to. But I’m sure they’ll come out and visit and enjoy watching the games.  

DP: I wanted to ask about off the field because obviously it’s not just an adjustment to a new team, new players, new lead, but also lifestyle and how you get around here. What have been some of the things that you like to do with you and your family? Has there been something that you’ve picked up since you’ve come to the United States?  

AD: I think just the weather just lets us do things that we probably wouldn’t do back in the UK. We’re pretty simple, really. Obviously, my youngest one goes to school now here. He’s really enjoying it. So we just live probably a nicer life outside of football. You can go out in the evenings. It’s not freezing cold. You can go on nice walks and stuff like that. So in that sense, it’s great for the kids and it’s great for the family.

DP: Let’s transition from you personally to the team because since the World Cup break, [DC United has] played a lot of games in a short stretch. It may not have gone as well as you wanted. You’ve gotten a lot of draws, a couple of wins here. But, what has been the biggest difficulty as a team in getting the results that I know that you guys want as you’re navigating through this second half of the season?  

AD: There’s no easy games. Every team has great players. The team we just played against Atlanta [United], the amount of money they spent just on their forward line, it makes a big difference. But, it’s a results business. And of course, we’d like to turn those draws into wins, but we’re in every game. It’s not like we’re getting blown away. If we can just adjust a little bit, whether that’s keeping the ball out of our net or being a bit more clinical in the other box, then it’ll make all the difference.

But we’re nearly there. We’ve just got to keep improving, keep working hard. I think you can see that everyone is working hard. It’s just that little bit of quality, maybe in both boxes, that we need to improve on. And I’m sure it will come. And hopefully come the end of season, we’ll make the playoffs. But you can see that we’re making strides compared to the recent seasons and that we’ve been improving. So, hopefully we can just go on an upward trajectory, moving ahead.  

DP: There’s 10 games left in the season. Right now, the team is situated three points below the playoff line. What are maybe some of the things that you’re tinkering with in practice to get the results that you know you want to get, but that you also need to kind of creep above the playoff?

AD: Yeah, obviously we do keep talking about the playoffs, but we’ve got to take it game by game. We’ve got a huge game this Saturday against Charlotte [FC]. If we can get three points from that, then there’s seven points from three games and that’s good going. We’ve been working hard on the training pitch, just being a bit better on the ball because last game was a bit disappointing, the way we were on the ball. It wasn’t from a lack of effort or anything like that. This last game, we just lacked a little bit of quality. We know we are good players. So I think if we work hard, then the quality will shine through. So, that’s basically just what we’ve been focusing on. But yeah, if we can get that win on Saturday, then seven points from three [matches] is good going.  

DP: Specifically for Charlotte FC, the last game was about a month ago. It kind of had a wild turn of events: scoreless first half, Louis [Munteanu] gets an early goal in the second half and then Charlotte kind of rattled off three goals in quick succession. Looking at that tape, looking at how far you guys have come since then, and you’ve mentioned the recent turn in form, what do you guys hope will go differently in this match?  

AD: Yeah, so the thing with that game was [we were] actually good for 60 minutes and then obviously it’s a game of 90 minutes. So you’ve got to stay concentrated for the whole game. I feel like we switched off a little bit after we scored. It wasn’t really game smart. We scored a goal and then we just completely pressed them and then we made silly mistakes for the goals. So, it’s just about concentrating, being a bit more smart, if we do go 1-0 up killing the game a little bit. But, it’s a 90 minute game. We can’t just play well for 60 minutes. But, we took a lot of positives from the game so we’ll have to do that again and then a little bit more.  

DP: What would it mean to you and to this team knowing that it’s been since 2019 that DC United has made the playoffs? What would it mean to you guys to be the team that gets the club back into the playoffs with a chance at winning MLS Cup in December?

AD: I think it’s huge. I think for the team is huge. I think, personally, you can take a lot of pride. You know, it’s been eight years since the team made the playoffs. So if you’re that guy or if you’re in that team that did make the playoffs, then you can create a legacy for yourself. So everyone’s striving in the same direction, but we’ve got to take it game by game and I’m sure we can do it.

DC United is back on the field on Saturday night as they host Charlotte FC at Audi Field.