FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – If you’ve watched any of the “Outside the Box” features the New England Revolution have produced this season, you’ve heard head coach Jay Heaps talk about fight; in his pregame meetings, in his halftime team talks, and in his postgame speeches.
We’ve talked about it all week. Right now, it’s about rolling up our sleeves and putting the fight in. It’s about our fight. We all know how to win in this league. We have to go on this field and earn the right to play. How do you do it? You outfight them. – Heaps’ pregame speech on March 26
We’ve got to step on the field and battle. The game plan’s there, guys; now we step on the field and do what we’ve done all week: fight for everything … Tonight, we’re playing our rivals. We step on this field and we fight from the opening whistle. – Heaps’ pregame speech on April 1
In terms of the fight, I was so proud of you guys in the second half … We came out and showed that team that we were going to fight them. – Heaps’ postgame speech on April 1
On Tuesday morning, Heaps elaborated on the concept of fight after the Revs showed plenty of it while grinding out a 1-0 win over the New York Red Bulls last weekend.
“We talk about fight in a lot of ways,” Heaps said. “Fight isn’t just going out there and tussling with guys; it’s actually much more of a bigger picture. It’s about getting to loose balls, it’s about beating your guy in the game. So I’m very happy with how we did that.
“Games are tough. You have to bring a mentality to the game and a physicality to the game, and I think when we talk about fight, it means both of those things.”
It’s no surprise that Heaps has worked to instill that type of attitude in his team; he played his entire 11-year MLS career with a similar mentality. It defined him. And now it’s starting to define the Revs, who have one of the most talented rosters in the league, but have at times lacked grit.
Friday night’s win over New York was critical for many reasons as the Revs got off the mark with their first win of the campaign. But the way in which they secured the victory. – grinding until the final whistle to make a one-goal lead stand up – could prove much more valuable than just three points.
“Those wins where you’re under pressure and you have to really dig in and grind for a result, those are the performances that really build chemistry within the team,” said Chris Tierney. “When you’re throwing your body on the line and digging in, scraping at the end of games, that’s the stuff that you remember come playoff time.
“When you’ve been in difficult situations with your teammates, you know that they’ll be there for you in the future.”
