FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – For the last month or so, the main storylines surrounding the New England Revolution have been the transfer window, the injury crisis, and the coming playoff push. Now, the window has shut, injured players are back, and that final push is already underway in training, with the stretch run of MLS action kicking off on Saturday. The energy is shifting, and at exactly the right time.
Still sitting at the foot of the Eastern Conference table, the Revs are nevertheless only five points outside of a playoff spot, and with the team holding at least two games in hand over the entire rest of the division save Columbus, belief is strong in Foxborough that New England could be playing postseason soccer this year. Speaking after training on Tuesday, head coach Caleb Porter talked about what he’s seen in training as well as what he expects to see in Montréal this weekend and over the next two months.
Captain Carles Gil, his brother Nacho, midfielder Noel Buck and winger Dylan Borrero were all full participants in training on Tuesday, with striker Giacomo Vrioni expected to join them by the end of the week. Porter said that, with players returning from injury and new additions integrating into the group, the team’s energy in training was great and, crucially, still moving in the right direction.
“The level went up,” he said. “It was a massive shift today in terms of the level, where it went, just with the quality that we had back in training. Guys have been working really hard, I've said it. But in terms of attacking quality, there was definitely a noticeable difference today and it makes everybody have to work harder and perform.”
The coach added that, with the team transitioning from what he had deemed to be the worst injury crisis of his managerial career into a state of surplus with both new signings and recovering stars building match fitness, difficult choices would need to be made in terms of who would make the starting XI and even the bench for this final run.
“We've got some tough decisions on the weekend in terms of not only who starts, but who comes off the bench,” Porter said. “Most of the guys that are back healthy won’t be available to start, but I'm hoping they are all available off the bench. Then, obviously next week as we move on and get more training time, there will be some tough decisions for starting. It's great. It's a good problem to have, when you have tough decisions. There will be some guys that played major roles in the last four games that won't dress. That's just where it's at on numbers and the quality that we have coming back into the team.”
Porter has cautioned that returning players and new additions like winger Luca Langoni would need time to reach 90-minute fitness, and that an appearance from the bench might be the best-case scenario for some this weekend at CF Montréal. But with the full squad set to return to MLS action considerably stronger than when play broke for Leagues Cup, the coach felt not only that playoff qualification was still in reach, but that any postseason opposition would need to watch out for a team hitting their stride at just the right time.
“Every game is a cup final, these last 11,” Porter said. “We’re going to go for it. Obviously, our goal is to take it one at a time and win every game. We probably won't win every game. We don't need to win every game to probably get in, but that's going to be our mindset, to win every game. If we don't win, we can't get down. We just have to go on to the next. We’ve got to win our home games. That's going to be really important. We know we have a lot of road games, as well, and if we can win our home games, and then win half the road games, then I think we'll be in good shape.”
He went on: “I always say this: At the end of the year if you get in [the MLS Cup Playoffs], especially if you are in really good form, getting results, and you are peaking at the right time, those are the teams that are really dangerous if you get in. So, that’s our goal. Obviously, we have a lot of work to do. We know where we are at. We are not naïve. We are going to have to win a good amount of these games. How many is it? Six, seven? I don’t know. We are not going to think about that. We are just going to think about winning the next one …
“I am confident that we are going to look like that team that won four in a row. I remember beating Cincinnati on the road, that’s one of the best teams in the league and we did it in an aggressive way. Then, we lost Carles and it wasn’t quite the same. But I said it, I am very pleased that we were able to, with so many guys out, still play in an aggressive way.”
That depleted squad has already got the Revolution on a four-game unbeaten run in all competitions (1-0-3) stretching back to the team’s last MLS match, against FC Dallas. But with the team about to receive the boost that it is, it’s not hard to imagine how much the quality of a fully fit squad will build on the sheer grit put on display by the team in recent weeks.
