On the State of the Team...
"We are having a typical preseason, a lot of hard work, mostly 2 sessions a day, we are able to play a number of games and to see some of the different players that are here and we are working very hard."
On the Jeff Parke injury/Chris Leitch injury...
"Jeff Parke has not had any kind of surgery. His ankle has bothered him a little bit down here in Florida, but it is very minor."
"Chris is responding very well to the hernia repair and he will come with us to Ecuador and we will see how he is feeling as we move along. He should be somewhere in the 3-4 week period and it may be optimistic, but everything has gone very well."
On the guys trying out...
"John Robinson most likely will not be in the picture. It is an ongoing kind of process. You see some guys now and when we are in Ecuador we will see other guys and over time decisions get made to see what the best direction to go in will be."
On the update of Michael Bradley...
"Michael has been making progress. He had a good month in December in England. In January he was in Holland for two weeks and has showed definite signs of being physically a step ahead of last year and he has matured as well. Michael along with the younger players, have greatly benefited from their experience in the preseason."
On Michael Bradley's playing time...
"It is too early to say whether or not he will experience playing time on the field."
On any surprises during tryouts...
"No major surprises."
On Tim Ward and his game time...
"Tim has handled himself very well and one of his qualities is that he has an understanding of how to play. He can play pretty much any spot across the back. He is used primarily at left and right back. He is a two-footed player and when he plays the left you think he is left footed and when he plays on the right you think he is right footed and that's very rare! Ward has benefited from the opportunity to get into these kinds of games in the preseason."
On Seth Stammler's progress...
"Seth has not trained yet. The tendon in his foot still needed a procedure and he is working back from that and he is seeing the doctor later today. He is working with Stu Schwerner and John Gallucci and is eager to get back onto the field."
On goal keeping...
"We are very pleased with Zach Wells' play. Zach has benefited and he is much more confident and I am very pleased with what we are seeing from him."
"Patrick Hannigan was drafted with the possibility of looking at him as a developmental goalkeeper. He is athletic, but still needs polish. So far Des McAleenan has worked with him day in and day out, but we have not used him in any matches yet. He is someone that we will have to move along slowly."
On Johnny Walker's return...
"We are still looking at the beginning part of March. He continues to move along quickly and everyone is pleased. Walker is here with us in Florida and he is able to still do a lot of footwork (touch the ball and use his feet). He is going though several different kinds of rehab to regain full motion in his shoulder and in 4 or 5 month he will be cleared for full contact."
On Gilberto's place on the team...
"We feel really good with the progress he made in his first year. His injury came at a bad time and we are optimistic that he is going to play a role on our team this year. We believe that Gilberto is a player that will help us this year. There will be plenty of time for Gilberto to jump back into it with the group. We are working on him joining us in Ecuador."
On naming a captain...
"We have not named a captain yet, but we continue to ask more of Amado [Guevara] everyday. He knows how much we count on him and then obviously there is Jeff Agoos. He has been a good a captain as the league has seen. He has stepped in and taken responsibility and helped. We are pleased that little by little we are getting more players to take that kind responsibility. We will worry about who will wear the captain's armband as we get closer to the regular season. Today, Amado started with it (the captain's band) and when he went off the field he gave it to Jeff."
On Amado Guevara mastering the English language...
"Amado is trying to move that part along. He certainly has a rapport with the teammates, he understands English very well, but at this time the main aspect of responsibility is to be a great example and role model. I think on our end we have to continue to push him and hold him to even higher standings."
