Robin Fraser, new Toronto FC head coach, stresses need for unity, hard work and pride

Toronto FC formally introduced Robin Fraser as its 15th head coach Wednesday, hoping the former TFC assistant coach can lead the club back to its former glory.

The 58-year-old Fraser was a key assistant to head coach Greg Vanney from 2015 to 2019 before leaving Toronto to take over the Colorado Rapids.

Fraser was part of Toronto's 2017 Treble-winning season (MLS Cup, MLS Supporters' Shield and Canadian Championship). TFC also won two Canadian Championships (2016 and 2018), made the 2016 MLS Cup final and was runner-up in the 2018 CONCACAF Champions League during his time with the club.

With Colorado, Fraser was runner-up for coach of the year in 2021 when the Rapids finished atop the Western Conference with a club-record 61 points. But he was fired in September 2023 after compiling a 47-48-34 record across all competitions.

Sixteen months later he is back with TFC, this time in charge.

"Coming into this building, it was like putting on an old shoe," Fraser said with a smile. "I've really enjoyed my time here. My first time around it was a situation that TFC had never made the playoffs before and I was really, really proud to be part of the group that moved the club forward and to the upper echelons of the league."

"Having said that I know that it's not the same," he added.

Toronto, which missed the Major League Soccer playoffs for the fourth straight season last year, has been without a coach since John Herdman stepped down in late November.

Asked how he felt as he watched Toronto's decline from his vantage point afar, Fraser replied: "To be quite frank, it was saddening."

Keith Pelley, president and CEO of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, says the club has been engaged in a "methodical, meticulous rebuild."

Fraser