FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – In addition to embarking upon a worldwide search to add to the playing squad, the New England Revolution technical staff also spent some time this winter looking for a new assistant coach.
The two concurrent paths have apparently diverged as the Revolution conclude their first week of training camp. While New England have already added Didier Domi to the side and plan to announce the arrivals of three other foreign players shortly, the Revs have yet to locate the right coach to complement returning assistants Stephen Myles and Remi Roy.
“We have been searching, we have been talking to some folks, but we haven't made a hire yet,” Revolution vice president of player personnel Michael Burns told MLSsoccer.com. “We're still continuing the search to bring a fourth coach on board.”
The impending return of the reserve league prompted New England's search for an additional assistant. Revolution head coach Steve Nicol said the projected midweek placement of reserve-team matches requires an additional coach on the staff to assume most of the second-team duties.
“With the way it's set up, the games are probably going to be midweek, which means the staff is going to be away for three days,” Nicol said. “It's not feasible with [just] three of us.”
Although the Revs would like to name a new assistant coach sooner rather than later, they do not have a particularly pressing need for the new assistant coach during the preseason. The period between now and the start of the regular season should allow Burns and Nicol to continue their search to find the proper candidate.
The task will not conclude until the Revs have a fourth person on board to aid the first team and lead the reserves, according to Burns.
“In an ideal world, we would have had the person on board on Monday [the start of Revolution training camp], but we still have some time before the season starts and the reserve league kicks off,” Burns said. “We're absolutely going to fill that position.”
