PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad -- U.S. manager Jurgen Klinsmann isn't worried that he'll be out of a job if the U.S. loses to Trinidad and Tobago in a tricky 2018 World Cup qualifier here Tuesday night.
"I would never go into a game thinking [about what happens] if I lose," Klinsmann said during his pre-match press conference at Hasely Crawford Stadium. "That's not me."
Klinsmann received support from his boss, U.S. Soccer Federation president Sunil Gulati, before last week's 6-1, qualifying-opening win over tiny St. Vincent and the Grenadines, with Gulati saying that he expects the U.S. to reach the tournament in Russia with Klinsmann at the helm.
But Gulati conceded that he was concerned by the national team's recent poor performances, including a fourth-place finish in July's Gold Cup and a high-profile defeat to archrival Mexico in last month's CONCACAF Cup.
And Gulati stopped short of saying that Klinsmann would hold onto his position regardless of results.
"This has been a tough period for sure, the hardest period since Jurgen has been coach," Gulati said.
The win against St. Vincent and the Grenadines was Klinsmann's 43rd since replacing Bob Bradley at the U.S. helm in 2011, and it moved Klinsmann into a tie with Bradley for the second-most wins among U.S. head coaches. Klinsmann notched his 43rd win more quickly than Bradley or Bruce Arena, whose 71 victories are the most all-time.
But while each of their previous nine games in Port of Spain were decided by a goal or less, the U.S. has never lost a game that mattered against Trinidad and Tobago. At the very least, a defeat would put the coach under even more pressure.
"You also have to live with short-term successes or disappointments, which we had, undoubtedly," Klinsmann said.
"That's what coaches have to live with. It's part of your job. But at the end of the day, I'm always focused on the next challenge. The challenge is tomorrow, T&T, with a good team, good players. Some play in Europe and do very well. We have to figure out ways to get a result."