Gershon Koffe lives by the old adage 'what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger'.
The 21-year old Ghanaian midfielder has been dropped to the Vancouver Whitecaps reserves for the past two matches but says he is not feeling any frustration at head coach Martin Rennie's decision.
"As you know, any player would like to be on the field, but it's a coach's decision," he told the Vancouver Sun.
"I am not that frustrated, but I'm looking forward to playing when they want to put me in.
"Whatever doesn't kill you, makes you stronger, so I'll be stronger next time (the coach) puts me in."
Rennie feels Koffie has the potential to be anything he wants but has urged the talented youngster to step up and show his best by working harder.
"I think it's important for players to be put into that position sometimes," Rennie said.
"The reality is, you're not always going to be an automatic starter and you do need to remember what got you to the point of being a starter. And you have to have that incredible drive to keep getting better.
"Gersh has got massive potential and we want him to fulfil that and I'm sure he's going to do that. He just needs to really have that desire to do it and I think he does."