Sigi Schmid says his Seattle Sounders side will not panic as the end of the MLS regular season nears.
The Sounders drew 1-1 with New York Red Bulls on the weekend which has them a point behind the Eastern Conference leaders but with two games in hand.
Seattle still have five matches to play in the regular season in which to clinch the Supporters' Shield but head coach Schmid insists his group will remain patient.
"I think there's no reason to panic. We still have some games in hand," he said after Red Bulls star Tim Cahill cancelled out Brad Evans' first-half penalty at CenturyLink Field.
"I know we got some tough games coming up and next week's going to be a tough week with Colorado and then Vancouver in the middle of the week, and then the end of the week Portland. That's going to be a tough week for us when two of the three are away.
"We've been put in tough situations before and we've met them, so we just have to stand up and meet them again."
Also vying for the minor MLS premiership are Western Conference leaders Real Salt Lake, Portland Timbers, LA Galaxy, Colorado Rapids, Sporting Kansas City and the Montreal Impact.
