Union coach Jim Curtin on the club’s slim playoff hopes: ‘I don’t ever want to feel this way again’

Union manager Jim Curtin is understandably optimistic that his team can deliver a win in Saturday’s regular-season finale against FC Cincinnati at Subaru Park (6 p.m., Apple TV).

But he’s equally willing to admit the truth: Even if the Union win, it might not matter.

The team needs to deliver its own win and receive a loss by either D.C. United or CF Montréal in their finales to earn one of the Eastern Conference’s last playoff spots.

“I don’t ever want to feel this way again, trying to scrape into the No. 8 or 9 seed,” said Curtin, one of the only coaches or players who was around when the Union last missed the playoffs seven years ago. “It’s our reality, though. It’s done — it’s been done by us, and as the leader, I take the responsibility [for] that. But a million things have happened in the previous 34 games to get us to this spot, and now we have one game left.”

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He acknowledged some specifics in his share of the blame, though most fans seem to agree this year has more been the players’ fault.

“I’ve already thought very hard about things that I could have done differently as the leader,” Curtin said. “Mistakes I could have made, substitutions, additions to the team at the right moment, losing guys to injury, international call-ups, being a little more prepared for different things. All those things go through your mind.”

However Saturday ends up, Curtin knows how much work is needed this offseason. In his gameday eve news conference Friday, he came as close as he ever has publicly to admitting a roster overhaul is coming.

“The team, naturally, like every MLS team, will look different next year,” he said. “But with this group that we have now, we have an opportunity tomorrow to prolong our season, [and] make one last run together because the locker room is going to look different. That’s the reality of things at the end of the year.”

Perhaps knowing how “this group” could be interpreted with his veteran-laden roster, Curtin quickly added that “whether that’s in a good season, a mediocre season, or a bad season, there’s changes — we get that.”

But the point was made, and it will linger well into the winter.

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The Union’s coaching staff will be following four teams at once on Saturday: D.C. and Montréal, each on 40 points, and Atlanta United and the Union at 37.

D.C. hosts Charlotte, Montréal hosts New York City FC, and Atlanta visits Orlando, all teams that have clinched berths but are contending for standings stakes. Every Eastern Conference game Saturday kicks off at 6 p.m., and every Western Conference starts at 9 p.m. (The “MLS 360″ whip-around show, among the best aspects of the Apple streaming deal, will come in handy).

Though Cincinnati is locked into third place in the East no matter what happens Saturday, it has something to play for — a berth in next year’s Concacaf Champions Cup. . So there’s no reason to think the Union alums in Cincinnati’s roster and front office will do their old friend Curtin a favor and take Saturday lightly.

The Union can only get the No. 8 or 9 seed if they make the playoffs. Those two teams meet in the one-game wild-card round at the No. 8 seed on Tuesday, and the winner will face Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami in the first full playoff round. That best-of-three series starts Oct. 25 in South Florida.

“We know the one thing we can control is how we play, that we can get a result, and that’s our priority,” Curtin said. “We have to win the game, otherwise your season is 100% over. … If we do our part, maybe one of the other matchups falls our way, and we get ourselves into the playoffs.”

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There will be three new premium seating spaces at Subaru Park next year, additions the Union badly need to make more money from a stadium that has far fewer frills than other venues around the league.

The highest-end one, called 2010 North (in honor of the team’s first season), will be built at field level of the stadium’s north stand, the end where the video board sits. It will have one row of 76 seats, with a counter in front with refrigerators and television screens built in.

Food and drink will be all-inclusive with at-seat service, and those fans will have access to a new luxury bar to be built on the concourse nearby.

Across the field, two rows of luxury seats will be built in front of the River End stands, home of the Union’s Sons of Ben and Keystone State Ultras supporters’ clubs. Those fans will also get all-inclusive food and drinks with at-seat service, and access to a new pub-style space called The Commodore that will also be built on the concourse

Finally, the Seaport Terrace Suites will be a structure built on the upper concourse in one of the corners, divided into two enclosed indoor spaces with a shaded balcony on top. Each suite will have room for up to 30 fans, and the Union plan to market them to groups and fans gathering for special occasions.

Fans interested in buying tickets in the new spaces can register their interest at philadelphiaunion.com/tickets/premium/coming-soon.

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While Curtin hopes things go right for his squad, Union reserve coach Marlon LeBlanc has no such worries. Union II finished second in the Eastern Conference this year and will host host New York City FC’s reserves on Sunday (5 p.m., Apple TV).

It’s the first time the Union’s reserve squad has earned a home playoff game, not just in its current era in MLS Next Pro but in its previous years as Bethlehem Steel in the USL Championship. Tickets are $16 for general admission and are available at philadelphiaunion.com/unionii.

You’ll likely see many of the team’s top young prospects in action, including forward Eddy Davis, midfielders Cavan Sullivan, CJ Olney, and David Vazquez, and defenders Neil Pierre and Frankie Westfield.

“We’ve got these brave, young players that I have to be brave enough to play as well,” LeBlanc said. “I think where we’re at right now, and where we are mentally heading into the postseason, has a lot to do with the fact that [their] bravery has been rewarded. These guys have flourished, and put themselves in a situation to play for a trophy.”

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