It’s been a bright start for the New England Revolution, who currently sit fourth in the Eastern Conference with a game in hand. The club is unbeaten in five (4-0-1) and a perfect 4-0-0 within the confines of Gillette Stadium.

Sporting director Curt Onalfo, who helped hire Marko Mitrovic as the 10th official head coach in club history, is focused on sustaining this trend.

"We're obviously starting to find our stride," Onalfo said in an exclusive interview with The Blazing Musket. "The goal is to continually get better. Marko's brought what we thought he would, and the team is progressing.

"In this business, you just have to keep going and focus on the next game. Pleased with the progress that we're making, and we want to continue with that."

Hiring Mitrovic

Veteran defender Andrew Farrell called Mitrovic “the best signing that the club made” during the offseason, noting, “He’s done a great job at bringing confidence to all the players on the team.”

While Mitrovic is inclusive and compassionate, he also cares deeply about bringing success to a club that’s never won the league’s top prize.

"It's life and death," Onalfo said. "That's kind of the way that he approaches every day."

The players have certainly responded, none more than Luca Langoni, who has one goal and six assists in nine appearances after having nine goal contributions in his first 38 MLS games.

With twelve different players having already etched their names on the scoresheet, it's clear that everyone is ready to perform when it matters.

"Marko is as authentic as they come," Onalfo said. "When you're authentic, what you see is what you get. If he's upset, he expresses it. If he's happy, he expresses it as well. He's also big on believing you can do things and setting goals.

“He’s inspiring by the way that he works. He does it each day by example.”

Mitrovic’s infectious personality has been noted by people throughout the organization. Blair Gavin, who worked as an assistant and head coach after retiring as a player, said that everyone is part of the process.

"I think that [Mitrović's] ability to bring the whole group together, to bring one unified fighting spirit, is pretty impressive,” He said. “To see everyone within the organization is pushing in the same direction is really nice to see and be a part of." 

Turner And Roster Construction

While the club is focused on the day-to-day, they’re also planning for the future. The summer transfer window, which opens on Jul. 13, is an opportunity to improve. 

Of course, roster rules create complications. At present, the Revs have all of their premium roster slots occupied with two Designated Players and four U-22 Initiative Players. They had $1,162,968 in General Allocation Money as of Feb. 20.

But nothing is static in sports.

“Our goal is to get better each window and continue to improve,” Onalfo said. “We have the ability to do things, and we’re just continually assessing that and making sure that we have great options.”

Matt Turner, on loan from Lyon, occupies a DP slot but can be bought down. There’s also a possibility that he heads elsewhere when the loan expires at the end of June.

But Onalfo hopes this isn’t the case for the former MLS Goalkeeper of the Year, who is leading the league in goals prevented (6.25) in 2026.

“He’s doing well, and we want to make sure that continues,” Onalfo said. “We’re going to do everything possible to make sure we can keep him here.”

Turner’s loan includes a purchase option valued at €3 million. While there’s still a lot at play, there’s a possibility that the goalkeeper returns to the Revs without being a DP.

“It could go either way,” Onalfo said. “We’ll just look at the scenario and figure out what is the best way for us to continue to build the roster and keep getting better.”

The technical staff is also looking at other elements. 

While only a small part of what they do, the club’s Pro Pathway is highly regarded. The U.S. Soccer Collective ranked the Revolution Academy second-best in the league in August 2025, highlighting Peyton Miller, Makai Wells, and Judah Siqueira.

Esmir Bajraktarevic is a past success story. The Wisconsin native was a member of the Revs' residency program, featuring for the Academy and second team before becoming a regular MLS starter.

In January 2025, Bajraktarevic signed for PSV in a deal reportedly worth up to $6 million, with the Revs retaining a sell-on percentage. At 21 years old, he has already won the Dutch league twice (2024-25, 2025-26) and scored the game-winning penalty to send Bosnia and Herzegovina to the World Cup.

“It just shows you that you can develop high-level players within your system,” Onalfo said.

Peyton Miller could follow a similar path. Onalfo declined to comment on reports that the 18-year-old is attracting European interest, instead noting that the former Revs fan has become a fixture at his hometown club.

“Our focus for him right now is to do whatever we can to help him get better and play well for us,” Onalfo said. “What happens in the future, we’ll see.”

Roster planning is a continuous process, especially with a new coaching staff that is learning about the players. There are many factors at play.

“You have to hit with your DPs, you have to hit with your TAM players, and then you have to hit with your players that have experience in MLS,” Onalfo said. “[The Academy is] a component to it, but if you do it really well, it’s a real enhancement because it gives you more money to go out and get higher-level players that are TAM and such.”

He later added, “We’re always very open-minded. I have a really good staff. We look at all these angles to see how we can continually get better. We’re always looking at ourselves to try to do that.”

A Look Toward The Future

Onalfo was appointed as the Revolution’s technical director in 2019 and became the sporting director in 2024. During this tenure, he’s helped build the club’s infrastructure.

“What I’m most proud about is the people that we have in the organization,” Onalfo reflected. “We have great people, and obviously getting Marko and his staff is more excellent people in the building.”

Onalfo was there when the Revolution Under-19s became the first in MLS NEXT history to win back-to-back MLS NEXT Cup national championships (2022 and 2023). He was there when the Revs first team won the 2021 Supporters’ Shield with a then-MLS record 73 regular-season points.

The goal is for more moments like this in the future.

“We just want to make sure that we are maintaining a high level of competency with our first team, winning as many home games as we possibly can, and then now bringing that to the road,” Onalfo said. “For us, it’s really important that we just keep pushing hard so that we can deliver to our fans and the community.”

There are new challenges ahead, including a seven-week World Cup break running from May 25 to July 16. Onalfo describes this as another preseason, with the players having some time off before resuming training, which will include a trip.

His mindset to this new wrinkle is similar to how he approaches each day: He’s focused on incremental improvement.

“[We will] just continually build on the foundation that we’ve been working on since January,” Onalfo said of the break.