FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Following a stretch in which the team had played ten league and three USOC matches over the span of 64 days, a bye week could not have come at a better time for the New England Revolution.
After going 1-9 over their last ten league contests, the club is looking forward to taking a big step back and regrouping for what they hope will be their second consecutive run to the playoffs.
“It’s good in regards to recovery, getting guys back a little closer from injury and resetting,” coach Jay Heaps told the media on Wednesday. “We’ve had a lot of games lately and obviously we’re not happy with where we are and what’s happened. It’s a good time to reset and come back with a renewed outlook.”
Following another grueling defeat last Saturday against New York, the Revs were afforded a couple of days off heading into their two week gameless stretch.
With three days of training set for this week, the players are looking to keep fit and in game condition, but are also relishing the opportunity to work on the little things instead of game planning over a shorter number of days.
“We had a tough July.” A.J. Soares said to MLSsoccer.com. “[There were] a lot of games, including Open Cup, a lot of mid-week games. We’ll just focus in training on competing and staying fit, with your mind off of a game. Just coming out, playing soccer and just improving on all the little aspects that maybe you don’t have time to do on a regular week.”
“We still want to get and keep our fitness, but also want to taper down a bit,” said Teal Bunbury. “We have a bunch of games coming up and we just had a lot of games as well. I think this is a great time to have a bye, physically and mental.”
It’ll also provide a chance for the team to heal up some of their veteran leaders that have been struck by the injury bug, and, if the team should pull in a new player, a chance for them to acclimate.
“I think it’s really important that we take this time, there’s a lot of competition going on [in training],” said Heaps. “When we start again on Monday, after a couple more days of training [this week], we’re going to reset a couple of things and change a couple of things up.”
The Revolution, who return to action on August 16th against the Portland Timbers, will enjoy five of their next six matches at home.
