FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The New England Revolution have been far from content with their recent run of form. But they are hopeful that an extra week of preparation will have them in the proper mindset for their next match, a visit from the playoff-chasing Montreal Impact on Saturday (7:30 pm ET; TSN2 in Canada, MLS LIVE in US).
“Some guys want to get right back on the field. [For] some guys that are maybe struggling with injuries and playing a lot of games, it’s good to get the extra time to heal the bodies up,” said goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth.
“We had a really good week of training last week, we took a couple of days [off] on the weekend and it was nice to get away a little bit and reassess. Now we can go in the final stretch run here and try and put our best foot forward.”
After missing out on three consecutive chances to clinch a spot in the 2015 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs, the Revs feel the bye week they just experienced has provided them a chance to level out as they head into their final two matches of the season.
“It helps everyone kind of get together and get ready for this last two games of the regular season, especially this one against Montreal,” said midfielder Scott Caldwell.
Typically a loose bunch, things started tightening up around Revs camp as a 7-0-1 run gave way to a 0-2-1 stretch that has pushed them out of any possibility of the top spot in the Eastern Conference.
With an extra week to prepare for their final regular season match at home – where they are 9-1-6 on the year – they feel that things are back on an even keel.
- Find more Revs news and notes at RevolutionSoccer.net
“We’re not happy with how we’ve been playing lately, but it doesn’t really change the locker room, in a sense,” said Caldwell. “We still got guys keeping everyone in a good mood, a good sense of where we’re at. We can’t get too tight, or else we won’t play so well. We can’t get be too loose or else we won’t play well. So we’ve got to find a good middle ground and I think we’re on that path.”
New England can still snatch the second spot in the Eastern Conference and avoid a single-game first round playoff match. But in order to do so, they know they need to keep their balance.
“We know that we still control our destiny,” said defender Andrew Farrell. “We want to be in the playoffs, we want to be a high seed. I think second seed is still available, but we’ve got to take care of our game.”
