Mired in an eight-match winless slump, their current two-week break in MLS play could not have come at a better time for FC Dallas.
The club will embark on what may turn out to be its most pivotal portion of the season beginning a stretch of five league matches in 21 days, all against Western Conference opponents, Aug. 3 in Seattle.
Before that run starts, however, FC Dallas hope to try and rekindle their blazing early-season form with eight to 10 training sessions and a July 27 friendly at home against English Premier League side Stoke City.
“What we have to do I think is take advantage of the opportunity of some downtime,” FC Dallas coach Schellas Hyndman told reporters after Tuesday’s training session. “This will be a wonderful opportunity to get our newly signed players introduced to their new teammates, the coaches and their surroundings ...
"It’s also an opportunity to think about how we want to move forward and play with the new players and how we can have the latter part of the season be our most productive.”
Erick is still recovering from a hamstring injury and Mauro Díaz has yet to arrive in Dallas, though all of his paperwork has been completed and the team expects him to be able to travel as soon as this evening. In addition to introducing the newly signed players, the Stoke City friendly will also give Hyndman an opportunity to experiment with little-used players and possibly rework some of the pieces of his lineup puzzle.
“We have all our players here and they’re healthy,” said Hyndman. “I think [regular starters] will get maybe 20-30 minutes. It’s also an opportunity to get players like Kellyn Acosta, who hasn’t played for us. He could very well be in the top 11.
"Maybe we get Michel back at left fullback, where we got him [to play] and then just get other players playing a little bit and make this a competitive game. It’s an opportunity for us to look at some players.”
