Inter Miami’s focus is on ending its five-game losing streak in MLS play on Saturday

Lionel Messi is seemingly at the tip of everyone’s tongue right now. Everyone except the team he is supposed to be joining, that is.

Inter Miami remained mostly mum on Friday about Messi’s plans to join the South Florida side, insisting once again that the focus is on the players who are on the roster right now and on snapping the current five-game losing streak in MLS play.

“We want to try and concentrate on ourselves. That is the mindset we have,” Inter Miami interim coach Javier Morales said in Spanish before the team’s Friday morning practice. “So much has happened in the past week. I became head coach, we have had three games, including one quarterfinals cup match.

“It is really difficult to think about other things than what we have going on. We have a very important game [Saturday], and honestly we want to do things in the best manner.”

Current Inter Miami captain DeAndre Yedlin also largely evaded questions about the superstar Argentine’s looming arrival, though the right back did acknowledge that staying off social media is one way for he and his teammates to not get caught up in the Messi Mania.

“If he decides to join this team, great and awesome,” Yedlin said. “At the moment, we are just focused on [Saturday].”

Focusing on this weekend’s match against the New England Revolution at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, is probably a good idea for Inter Miami. The Herons may have reached the semifinals of the U.S. Open Cup with Wednesday’s 1-0 road win over Birmingham Legion, but that was a tournament game. In MLS, Inter Miami remains in last place in the Eastern Conference and is one loss away from tying the franchise record for consecutive league losses.

To climb out of the basement Inter Miami will need to improve upon its chance creation and finishing, especially since the fourth-placed Revolution are unbeaten at home this season. Morales’ men have scored just 15 times in as many league matches, an underwhelming total that is tied for second-fewest in the East.

“We need to be a little calmer in the final third,” Morales said. “It is what we are missing. The other day we had [vs. Birmingham Legion] control of the game, we had opportunities, but we are missing that final pass and tranquility.

“We are giving the players a little bit of freedom so they can play loose and create chances, which is the most important thing in the final third.”

One player who will not be able to help with that is reserve attacker Jake LaCava, who has been sent on a season-long loan to the Tampa Bay Rowdies in the USL Championship. LaCava was seldom used in his first year with Inter Miami, making appearances in the Open Cup but none in MLS action.

Of course, the defense will have to do its part on Saturday vs. the Revolution in the final game before June’s international break. Bruce Arena’s troops include crafty Spanish difference-maker Carles Gil and returning Designated Player Gustavo Bou, meaning Inter Miami’s back line will have its hands full.

Just who comprises the back four or five for Inter Miami remains to be seen. Regular starters Sergii Kryvtsov and Franco Negri did not train on Friday morning for undisclosed reasons while the injured Ryan Sailor also missed the final practice before the flight north.

Like with the Messi situation, however, Inter Miami’s focus lies on the collective regardless of who is available for this showdown with the Revolution.

“We need to close this chapter on this bad run in MLS and start to rack up some wins,” said Yedlin. “It is a really good opportunity [Saturday].”