by Keith Costigan

I had the chance to chat with head coach Steve Nicol about his side's disappointing end to the season and what he believed caused the collapse, and which players New England fans can expect to see back in uniform next year.

Keith Costigan: The start of last season was a good one for your side with new signings like Kenny Mansally and Mauricio Castro knitting in to the side very well. Can you talk about that fast start and how pleasantly surprised you were with it?

Steve Nicol: When you bring in new players you always wonder how long it will take for them to gel in with the rest of the team and catch on with the identity of the team. Preseason went very well and showed that the new faces were smart players who picked things up quickly. It also helped that our first game of the season against Houston went really well and that helped set us up for a good run to begin the season.

KC: You also managed to lead your side on a tremendous run in SuperLiga, which led to you winning the tournament. Can you tell us what winning that trophy meant to you and your team?

SN: The tournament itself was absolutely fantastic for us. We had a couple of injuries at the time so we managed to play some of our youngsters and they stepped in and did a fantastic job. Getting those young players some valuable playing time was only going to enhance their confidence for the rest of the season and make us a better side. Playing against the Mexican teams was a great experience for us all and to come through all of that and win with the youngsters playing such a big part was wonderful for the club.

KC: Do you believe that SuperLiga run hindered the rest of your MLS season?

SN: The real thing that went against us was that while playing those SuperLiga games we went around 5 or 6 weeks with very little MLS action and that left us a lot of games at the end of the season. In that sense it definitely hindered us as far as MLS was concerned. At one stage we were playing Saturday, Wednesday for 3 months straight. In 96 days we played 23 games and if you add in to that the trips to the west coast, it left us with absolutely no juice in the tank. We basically had to start all over as far as our season was concerned, as any momentum we built up was lost because of this run of fixtures.

MLS Cup

• 2008 MLS Cup Final

KC: Do you feel like you ever rediscovered your form from early in the season?

SN: With five weeks left in the season we were basically starting over as far as winning games and playing with confidence. You are always expecting to get back to the same level but it was always going to difficult. I felt we did get our legs back when we picked up a good point in Colorado and I felt we were returning to form. We followed that a couple of weeks later with a game at K.C. and Steve Ralston breaks his leg and then we lose Taylor Twellman for the rest of the year. Add to that the Khano Smith suspension and the injury to Shalrie Joseph and you can see how hard it was to get back to the level of play that we began the season with. It was just one bad thing after another, which meant the second half of the season was a bit of a disaster in the end.

KC: The CONCACAF Champions League was another tournament you had to play in and, just like other American sides, you didn't perform as well as expected. What do you make of this tournament and why do you believe MLS sides struggled to make an impact?

SN: The timing of the tournament really goes against the teams that qualify to play in it. It is great for our teams to play against foreign opposition, but it hinders your form in MLS. D.C. failed to qualify for the playoffs and I believe that was down to the fact that they had to deal with their Champions League fixtures, too. To qualify for these tournaments you have to do well in MLS so our main focus will always be on our MLS fixtures and ultimately we cannot do anything about the timing of these other tournaments, so it is something we will have to deal with.

KC: With Steve Ralston getting older and Michael Parkhurst on the move, could we be seeing the core that has made your side successful being split up?

2009 Summer Transfers

Photos

• 2009 Summer Transfers
• 2009 MLS Transfers

Transfer Pages

• England | Europe | Major League Soccer

SN: I don't think so. Steve Ralston has been labeled with being over the hill for the last two years yet he has produced two tremendous years. Matt Reis is the best 'keeper in MLS and Twellman, Joseph, Heaps and Jeff Larentowicz will all be back so the core of the side will remain the same and we will look to add to that in the offseason. It is our job to always try and improve the side as best we can and make us an even stronger team for next year.

KC: Can you explain the process of identifying potential players for your squad?

SN: Finding players is always difficult and requires a lot of phone calls, watching countless DVD's and generally doing whatever it takes to find suitable players. We obviously can't fly all over the place to watch players live so it is a difficult task but one that every manager must go through.

KC: Some of your new players will come from the college system. Do you believe it is a good system for the best young American players to fully develop into professionals?

SN: Between the ages of 18 and 22 are the most important for any soccer player's development and I believe the college system can be both a help and a hindrance to certain players. There have been players that have come out of college and gone on to play in Europe so that tells you there is something right about it. On the other hand, I believe the lack of games doesn't help the majority of the players so I would like to see them play more and that would be a big benefit to them as they take the step up to the professional level.

KC: And finally, do you see your own future at New England or do have ambitions to coach somewhere else?

SN: I am not really someone that looks that far into the future to be honest. My focus is on next year with New England and all the other stuff will take care of itself. Everybody would like to be the manager of Liverpool or Real Madrid and I am no different. Put it this way, if Real Madrid calls tomorrow I will listen, but other than that I am looking forward to next year with New England.

Fox Soccer Channel's Keith Costigan writes about American soccer for FOXSoccer.com, and contributes his blog to interact with his fans.