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By Kevin Koczwara<\/strong><\/p>\n The flu is running wild through New England, but that doesn\u2019t mean the New England Revolution are sitting at home, resting in bed with the thermometer sticking out between their lips. There is work to be done. This is a team that has finished close to the bottom in Major League Soccer\u2019s in each of the past two seasons. It\u2019s a team looking to return to the glory days\u00a0of the mid-2000s. It\u2019s a team still trying work out the kinks and build a new foundation because the previous one has crumbled under the weight of\u00a0an ever-expanding and rapidly improving MLS.<\/p>\n One year ago, New England had just hired its first new coach in 10 seasons after letting Steve Nicol go. Former\u00a0defender Jay Heaps stepped into the role. The team also re-worked its front office to meet the changing times in MLS, with Michael Burns and Brian Bilello accepting new positions, something that desperately needed to be done. Luckily for the new regime, Kelyn Rowe was clearly the third best player in the MLS SuperDraft in 2012 because Heaps and his new staff, which was him and Jay Miller, had little time to prepare for the draft.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n This year is different, though. Heaps and Burns\u00a0have been given more time to\u00a0scout the talent at the collegiate level, as well as build the backbone of its roster before the draft even kicks off on Jan. 17 in Indianapolis.<\/p>\n \u201cIn terms of preparation, we feel we\u2019re very well prepared, more so than last year,\u201d said Heaps in a conference call with the media on Wednesday. \u201cAs you know, last year I took over as coach about a month ago so there\u2019s been a lot more preparation because we\u2019ve had a lot more time.\u201d<\/p>\n One thing New England won\u2019t be doing this year is revamping the roster. Last year, the team needed a complete\u00a0overhaul and was\u00a0renovations were ongoing\u00a0when the SuperDraft came around. Going into the draft this year, the Revolution have 22 of the allotted 30 roster spots filled. Three new players with European experience have been added in recent weeks. Andy Dorman returned to the Revolution after spells with St. Mirren, Crystal Palace and Bristol Rovers, and the team signed midfielder\/defender Kalifa Cisse from England\u2019s lower leagues as well. The team then announced the signing of Portuguese defender Jose Goncalves last week, a few days after Scott Caldwell put pen to paper and became the team\u2019s second Homegrown Player signing. But the legwork isn\u2019t done yet, admits Burns. This is still a team looking to make a major leap in an ever improving league.<\/p>\n \u201cI think one of the biggest differences from last off-season to this off-season is we\u2019re much more specific in our search for players. Heading into this off-season, going from \u201811 to \u201912 with the turnover rate as high as it was, we were looking for players all over the field. We made a conscious effort to really shrink that to a few specific positions this year,\u201d said Burns. \u201cAnd I think you saw that with both (Kalifa) Cisse and (Jose) Goncalves. Having said that, and Jay alluded to it earlier, we\u2019d still like to add an attacking player and we\u2019d still like another player or two to the defense….<\/p>\n \u201cIf you look at our current roster right now, having 22 players under contract, we\u2019re probably further along now than we were last year at this time.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd having said that, and Jay said it as well, and not just in terms of strength but certainly in quantity, we probably have quite a few midfielders that are going to be fighting for spots,\u201d Burns continued. \u201cListen, while we feel okay with where we\u2019re at right now, we\u2019re still not done and we haven\u2019t played a game yet.\u201d<\/p>\n Games will be coming soon for the Revs, though. Training camp opens on Thursday, Jan. 17 — the same day as the SuperDraft- – and will include two trips to Tucson, Ariz. for a total of six preseason games.<\/p>\n Tyler Polak was the other acquisition in last year\u2019s SuperDraft for the Revolution. Along with Kelyn Rowe, the Revs picked up\u00a0a pair of\u00a0promising prospects with high ceilings. But while Rowe\u00a0featured regularly in 2012, Polak\u00a0struggled to make the\u00a0gameday roster, underscoring just how difficult the jump to pro soccer can be. The\u00a0fledgling\u00a0left back\u00a0still had plenty of growing up to do before he could make an impact in one of the toughest, and most physically demanding positions in top-flight soccer.<\/p>\n \u201c[Polak\u2019s] 20 years old out of Creighton, so he\u2019s still developing,\u201d said Heaps. \u201cHe\u2019s a player, obviously he played right away in our first game of the year and then as we\u2019ve talked about with college players, it\u2019s a difficult transition from college to the pros. I think that we even saw that Kelyn (Rowe), a little bit of a dip, in some of our rookie picks.<\/p>\n \u201cIt happens to every one of us that came from college to pros, there\u2019s going to be a dip in the mental fatigue, a little bit of the physical fatigue.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, Tyler definitely is someone we see going forward as having an upside, but right now he\u2019s still working to get better every week and every day.\u201d<\/p>\n Polak, who’s playing under\u00a0a Generation Adidas deal,\u00a0shouldn’t worry\u00a0about making an impact immediately. His contract doesn’t impact the salary cap, so cracking the starting XI on a regular basis\u00a0shouldn’t be a pressing concern. Plus, it\u2019s not uncommon for full backs to mature at a more gradual pace\u00a0because of\u00a0what the position demands from them.<\/p>\n Last month, the Revolution selected Chad Barrett and Hunter Freeman in the second stage of the 2013 MLS Re-Entry Draft. Though neither player has signed with the team as of yet, Burns said that he hasn’t given hope on adding them to the roster.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re still optimistic and hopeful that they\u2019re going to be wearing a Revs jersey this year,\u201d said Burns. \u201cOffers were extended; offers have not been accepted to date. So we\u2019re going to continue to work on those and we\u2019re hopeful we can get something done. But there will come a point where if the players don\u2019t want to accept the offers and join the Revs,\u00a0(then) we will look in another direction.\u201d<\/p>\n Barrett spent last season on loan from the Los Angeles Galaxy with Norwegian club V\u00e5lerenga. He played one season with the Galaxy after being acquired from Toronto FC, where he spent three seasons. The forward broke into the league with the Chicago Fire in 2005 and has over 50 career goals in MLS.<\/p>\n Freeman played for the Colorado Rapids last season, his second stint with the club.\u00a0He has also played for the New York Red Bulls, Houston Dynamo and Toronto, and has spent\u00a0two seasons with IK Start in Norway.<\/p>\nTyler Polak, future left back<\/h3>\n
Re-Entry picks remain unsigned<\/h3>\n
Burns comments on 2013 schedule<\/strong><\/h3>\n