Minnesota United head coach Eric Ramsay says the club are “onto a good thing” despite their nine-match winless streak as they prepare to face the San Jose Earthquakes.

Minnesota ended a six-match losing run against Houston Dynamo last weekend with a 1-1 draw but could not build on that in midweek as they let a lead slip in stoppage time against D.C. United to lose 3-2.

Sitting ninth in the Western Conference with teams below them are starting to close in, but Ramsay, who is starting to come under pressure due to this run of results, remains optimistic.

“I always see hope,” Ramsay said. “We’ve got a group that is very willing to throw themselves into a challenge and a coaching staff that are largely very positive and constructive.

“We’re doing everything we can to make sure that we roll from one game into another. We look at ourselves hard in the mirror, but we’re also realistic, and I am absolutely adamant that we’re onto a good thing here.

“The big thing is we remain calm and level, with lessons learned, and everything still intact.”

Meanwhile, San Jose sit rooted to the bottom of the table having collected just 14 points this season.

Despite winning just one of their last 12 matches, interim head coach Ian Russell says he sees improvement in the team, especially defensively.

“We’ve had three games in a week, and you want to focus on each game, but that’s really hard,” Russell said.

“Defensively, we’re better, but we’ve got to get the attack going. It’s a fine line. It’s a matter of every player buying in defensively, staying compact, small details.

“If you do that as a collective, you start seeing results and, defensively, we’ve been pretty good.”

Onward and upward.