FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – When Jay Heaps took over as head coach of the New England Revolution ahead of the 2012 season, he set about the task of overhauling the club’s roster. Along with General Manager Michael Burns, Heaps made 14 additions to the squad in his first four months in charge.
In each subsequent offseason – as the team has improved and a core of contributors has developed – there has been less and less turnover. Many of the key pieces have been put in place, and the task for New England’s front office now is building upon the foundation laid in previous years.
Case in point – in 2015 the Revs will return 16 of the 18 players who dressed in last year’s MLS Cup final. While Heaps and Burns haven’t yet completed the roster for the upcoming season, they’re thrilled that they’ve been able to retain much of the nucleus which brought them so much success in 2014.
“Purely from a numbers standpoint, we’ve got to add some players and we will add some players over the next couple of months,” Burns said. “But going into this offseason, it’s probably the first time in a long time we felt decent about the core of guys that we have and were able to retain. We weren’t looking to make a lot of changes.”
The Revs will open preseason camp on Thursday evening with 20 players on the roster, including offseason additions Jeremy Hall and Sean Okoli. That leaves plenty of room for more signings, with additional depth up top and along the backline likely areas of interest.
As for top-end contributors, Burns said the Revs are exploring their options there, as well.
“We’re still looking to add one or two guys that we think can come in and make an impact in terms of being a starter or being in that position to fight for a starting spot,” he said. “But we also need to fill out the roster in terms of depth and squad players. It’ll be a combination of those two things over the next couple months.”
A shortened offseason filled with various drafts briefly delayed New England’s ability to scout internationally, but that process is underway as Burns and assistant coach Tom Soehn are scheduled to visit Europe this weekend.
Some potential targets will also join the Revs throughout preseason camp, which spans the next six weeks and includes a pair of trips to Arizona. Those opportunities to see players on an extended basis in New England’s setup will be key as the Revs look to fill out their roster ahead of the March 8 opener.
“We do plan on having some players into preseason, as well,” said Burns. “For us, that’s the best opportunity to actually see guys perform on a day-in, day-out basis on the field, and also for our coaches and players to get to know these trialists off the field. So we’ll look to do that, as well.”
