Phil Neville believes his Portland Timbers side's "trajectory is going in a massive upward curve" as they prepare for their playoff first leg against San Diego FC.
After ending the regular season on a five-game winless run, the Timbers qualified for the first round of the playoffs after beating Real Salt Lake 3-1 in the Wild Card game.
The Timbers finished in the play-in positions in 2024, too, while they missed out on the postseason completely in 2023.
Neville insisted he felt Portland were on the rise, an opinion that would not have changed even if they had failed to get the better of RSL in the Wild Card match.
"I think the trajectory is going in a massive upward curve, and regardless of the result [against RSL] that's how I felt," said Neville.
"I felt the trajectory of the team was going in a massive upward curve. You think back to when I first arrived, people didn't rate Evander. People didn't rate David Ayala. People didn't rate Antony.
"All of a sudden, we have worked as a staff, my staff are incredible, we have worked hard at improving these players. Building a culture, building a philosophy, building a consistency of work where there is a real development at this whole football club.
"I think what you see is with any young team, you are going to get peaks and troughs. Our troughs came at the wrong time, at the end of the season, but I think we are at our best when we are playing on the absolute edge."
Unc still got it! pic.twitter.com/irmzwLgVUD
— Portland Timbers (@TimbersFC) October 24, 2025
San Diego finished top of the Western Conference after thrashing the Timbers 4-0 on Decision Day.
They have lost just twice in the league since the start of August, with both defeats coming in September as they finished the regular season with back-to-back wins.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
San Diego FC – Anders Dreyer
Anders Dreyer recorded 19 goals and 18 assists this season, joining Lionel Messi, also this season, as the only two players in MLS history to record at least 17 of each in a single campaign.
Dreyer was involved in at least one goal in 22 matches this season, tied with Messi for the most of any player this season.
Portland Timbers – Felipe Mora
Felipe Mora scored twice in the first 35 minutes of Portland's 3-1 win over Real Salt Lake in the Wild-Card round on Wednesday, becoming the first Timbers player to score multiple goals in the first half of a postseason match.