New DC United boss Ben Olsen insist he is not overwhelmed at being the youngest-ever MLS coach.
The 33-year old was this week announced as the man to lead the Washington club and feels he is ready to take the reins after experiencing a short stint as caretaker coach last season.
"I've led a bit of a fantasy life, you know?" admitted Olsen after his press conference on Monday morning.
"I played soccer all my life as a player, and [as] you go through this process, a lot of ways it's somewhat of a natural progression. I suppose maybe not this quick, but I don't feel overwhelmed. Maybe I should. But I feel calm and excited and ready to get moving."
Olsen got the job despite earlier calls from DC president Kevin Payne saying they would look elsewhere and the former midfielder is delighted they eventually went with him.
"I wasn't frustrated," Olsen said of Payne's earlier public comments. "Look, I'm a competitor. Give someone the big office, I don't want to leave. I don't want to go back down [to assistant coach] and do that. I certainly was more than willing to do that, but again, I'm a competitive guy, sometimes maybe to a fault.
"But I felt that I could do this. As the season grew on, we still didn't have the record we wanted, but I saw signs that this team had something in them, and with a couple pieces, that we could be a very competitive team in this league. That's what we plan to do."