Dax McCarty believes the secret to the New York Red Bulls' success so far this season has been their ability to play with a chip on their shoulder through the 2015 MLS campaign.
The Red Bulls currently sit first in the Eastern Conference standings, with an equal league-best 48 points from 28 games.
Red Bulls captain McCarty said his side's ability to create an 'us versus them' mentality has been the driving force behind their campaign so far.
"That's something that we've carried with us all season," McCarty told mlssoccer.com.
"Teams talk about us as a dangerous opponent, but we don't care.
We still feel like we have another level that we can get to, and the only way that we can get to the highest level that we're capable of is to carry that chip on our shoulder and to go into every game thinking that the other team doesn't respect us and our abilities and what we're able to do.
"We can't lose that chip on our shoulder because if we do, that's when we'll become complacent.
"Some teams naturally become complacent when they're doing well. But the great part about this team is that we don't.
"We've learned that we're not good enough to get complacent. We're still learning about ourselves and trying to find our best level, and we're never going to do that if we become complacent."