Revolution Focused On Improving After Winning Four Of Five Games
“We’re 10th place right now. We’ve got to keep fighting for our lives. We’re nowhere near where we want to be."
While the New England Revolution have won four of their last five games, they recognize there’s still room for growth.
The Revs have found their form after a 0-3-1 start. Their only blemish in the last five outings was a 1-0 road loss to FC Cincinnati.
The run includes 1-0 wins over Atlanta United FC and Charlotte FC. Both came at daunting venues as Charlotte had won its previous eight games at Bank of America Stadium, and the Revs’ only prior win at Mercedes-Benz Stadium came in 2021.
The Revolution are hoping for similar performances in the coming weeks. They play five of their next six away from Gillette Stadium.
“We’re not thinking about how many games we’ve won in a row, we’re thinking about improving,” head coach Caleb Porter said. “We’re 10th place right now. We’ve got to keep fighting for our lives. We’re nowhere near where we want to be.
“That’s the message to the team – let’s keep improving. I love that we’ve been winning games, but the coach in me is always looking at how we can be better. When I look at the last game, there’s a lot that we can still improve on.”
The push to get better applies everywhere on the field.
When asked about Brayan Ceballos and Mamadou Fofana, foreign center backs who have performed well since arriving in the off-season, Porter offered a compliment before noting that they can be sharper.
“So far they have done well,” Porter said. “For me, they can still be better. There are a lot of moments in the [Charlotte] game where you go, ‘Hey, we maybe could’ve given up a goal there.’ So, I showed them a few clips today and reminded them that the margins are very tight.
“Aljaž [Ivačič] came up with a couple big saves early in the game. He has to make those saves – that’s his job – but I prefer to not have him make those saves early in the game.”
Fofana agrees with his coach, saying the season is still young and there’s much to do if the Revs are going to make the playoffs.
“We have to keep up what we are doing and keep pushing, because we just played nine games,” Fofana said. “We are in a good [form], but we have to continue to work and keep pushing.”
The Revs return to the field on Saturday when they head north to face Toronto FC. While TFC are below them in the standings, Porter anticipates a challenging test.
“This game in Toronto is going to be a very difficult game,” Porter said. “It would be easy to look at where they are at in the table and, if human nature kicks in, you think, ‘Oh yeah, this will be a game that’s set up for us.’ But it doesn’t happen that way, and it doesn’t work out that way in this league. As soon as you start thinking that way, you lose.”