Heaps prepares for next phase of preseason

Jay Heaps and his New England Revolution will finally get their first real preseason test on Wednesday in Tucson, Ariz., when they kick-off the FC Tucson Desert Diamond Cup against the defending MLS Cup Champions Los Angeles Galaxy.

Heaps is hoping for positive results from his team, the most important aspect of the preseason tournament is getting his squad ready for the start of the MLS season on March 10th.

“It’s important for us to get MLS ready,” said Heaps. “We’ve been in some identification mode, we’re still a little bit in there, but at the same time now we turn it up a notch in terms of how long guys are going to play, the intensity of the matches and the overall outcome of the matches. We want to make sure that we put our best foot forward.”

The tournament aspect of the matches doesn’t really come into play for Heaps. While winning the tournament would be a bonus, it isn’t the goal of participation.

“It’s about how we’re going go in and progress,” Heaps said. “We want to make sure we’re getting minutes to the right guys, but at the same time we’re still in identification mode, so we’re still going to be looking at some players and some formations. We’re not 100% set exactly what we want to do. We know we have an idea of what we want to do, but that can change with injuries and personnel. At this point, it’s really an important two weeks.”