It appears New York Red Bull fans weren’t the only ones shocked to hear of former General Manager Erik Soler’s demotion late yesterday afternoon.

Speaking to Seeing Red! The New York Soccer Roundup Podcast, Red Bulls assistant coach Mike Petke expressed his surprise over the latest front office shake-up.

“Whenever money is involved, whenever big business is involved, this is the nature of the beast,” a pensive Petke revealed. “While of course, I can speak for myself and possibly 99% of the staff and players, when I got an e-mail (Tuesday night) about a half hour before the press release went out, I had zero clue about this.”

The late season removal of the team’s principle architect during a vital and final three game push towards the playoffs have many pundits questioning the logic behind the move and the potential effect it may impart on the team. Petke admitted his own shock but painted a potential positive picture for the rest of the team.

“It definitely took the wind out of my sails a little bit,” he admitted. “Having said that, I spoke to Erik and this is the business we are in.

“Will it affect the players? I hope not. I don’t think it will overly affect the players. Because like I said, most players understand this is the business we are in; here today, gone tomorrow.

“I don’t think it will affect us,” he continued. “Potentially, it can have the opposite affect and light a fire under us.”

For more from Petke, tune into the latest Seeing Red!

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