FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – This past weekend’s bye was beneficial for the New England Revolution, despite the unfortunate disruption of their recent turnaround and the momentum gained. The players had their first opportunity this year to decompress and focus on recovery, both mentally and physically.

But it’s true that absence makes the heart grow fonder. A weekend away was welcomed, but when training resumed on Tuesday morning, the players were anxious and eager to get back on the field and continue preparing for Saturday night’s return to action against the Houston Dynamo.

“We all miss playing, let’s be honest,” said Kelyn Rowe. “When you take a couple days off, everyone’s kind of champing at the bit to come back and play again.

“I think that’s a positive going into this week’s training and this weekend. We’re obviously fighting for a lot of spots right now and getting that time off and getting that hunger back, I think, is going to be really good for us going forward.”

Some of the players couldn’t even bear to pull themselves away from the game for the entire weekend. Andrew Farrell said he used the time to relax and recharge, but also admitted to watching much of the MLS action as he sized up the competition ahead of the regular season’s final 10 games.

“It’s always good to be back and see the guys after a weekend off,” Farrell said. “I’m excited to get back to training and excited to finally get some games in.

“I watched all the games this weekend. It’s fun to see the competition around the league, but you want to get back out and start playing again.”

After the weekend action played out the Revs found themselves tied with Toronto FC for fourth place in the Eastern Conference standings, three points above the red line. Seven of New England’s 10 remaining matches are against the five teams currently behind them in the East.

Now refreshed and reinvigorated – and with another bye on the horizon after this weekend’s meeting with Houston – the Revs are feeling ready for the stretch run.

“We’re kind of back in our groove now, getting three good results back-to-back-to-back,” said Farrell. “We’re looking to keep that momentum going into these last 10 games.”