Throughout the past several seasons, the New England Revolution have counted themselves among the Eastern Conference’s elite. With that being said, the 2016 season is about taking that next step.

Following an MLS Cup loss in 2014, the Revs were unceremoniously dumped out of the 2015 playoffs in an opening round loss to D.C. United. In addition to serving as a frustrating end to the Revs’ season, the defeat also proved to be the end of the Jermaine Jones era in New England following two largely productive season.

Jones’ departure leaves a large gap in the midfield, but the Revs squad remains largely unchanged throughout the rest of the lineup. With a bit of continuity, the Revs are looking for more of the same while adding a bit of consistency to their performances along the way.

“I think, from day one, we want to play the right way,” head coach Jay Heaps told SBI, “and stick to our philosophy and go out and play the way that we’ve played the last three or four seasons going back to my first year. We continue to improve and we want to make the regular season count so that, when we do have a chance to make the playoffs, we make the playoffs and put ourselves in a position to really go deep and try and win championships, win conference titles, be in the conversations with high standings in the conference.

“That’s important for us. We take it one game at a time, but if we put those games together, we expect to push other teams, winning games when we can while making things difficult for other teams while we’re at our best.”

Here’s a closer look at the 2016 New England Revolution:

NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION SEASON PREVIEW

2015 FINISH: 14-12-8, 50 points (5th in Eastern Conference)

KEY ACQUISITIONS: Gershon Koffie, Sambinha, Jordan McCrary, Xavier Kouassi

KEY LOSSES: Jermaine Jones, Kevin Alston, Jeremy Hall

NEWCOMER TO WATCH: Gershon Koffie. Following the departure of Jones, Koffie is expected to step into the midfield position vacated by the U.S. Men’s National Team veteran. Alongside Scott Caldwell, Koffie will look to marshall the midfield while assisting a talented and fluid attacking unit atop the field.

PRESSURE IS ON: Lee Nguyen. With Jones gone, Nguyen re-assumes the mantle of face of the franchise. Nguyen’s ascendance yielded a MVP-caliber season in 2014 before shifting into more of a playmaking role last season via a 10-assist campaign. The absence of Jones puts the pressure on Nguyen to carry even more of the load while also furthering his case for this summer’s Copa America. The 29-year-old midfielder certainly has the pieces around him and ability to lead, but Nguyen will have to pick up a lot of slack if the Revs are to push forward in 2016.

OUTLOOK

Jay Heaps found plenty of takeaways from last fall’s loss to D.C. United. The former MLS defender saw several moments throughout the contest that led to his team’s demise. However, Heaps’ biggest takeaway from that loss had nothing to do with the action taking place at RFK Stadium.

Following another mid-summer slump and consistency issues down the stretch run, Heaps looked inward when analyzing the negative points of the 2015 season. For Heaps, the Revs season may have ended against D.C. United, but the seeds of their demise were planted much earlier in the year.

“I think the game itself was something where we feel we had chances in that game to be in a better position than we finished,” Heaps told SBI, “but I think the real takeaway was that we put ourselves in that position. We left points on the table in the last four or five weeks of the season. If we had gotten three more points, we could have been a three seed and have been playing a home game and not having been in a play-in.

“You realize how tight MLS is and, if you take your eyes off for one game, we drop from winning a game to tying a game to drop two points, which is a big difference. It costs us having that home game. The moment wasn’t just that we lost the game to D.C. It was what got us to that point and we thought we could have had a better run in the playoffs if we had done just a little bit more in the regular season.”

Heading into 2016, Heaps and the Revs have added several pieces to help maximize the team’s performances throughout the year. Gone is Jones, but in his stead the Revs add a young but experienced Koffie. Meanwhile, the club has Designated Player Xavier Kouassi waiting in the wings following an injury that will keep him out for the first several months.

While Kouassi’s injury is admittedly a blow, Heaps is excited to see what the Ivorian midfielder can bring to the table. Heaps says the club scouted Kouassi extensively leading to his signing, and the Revs head coach expects that the former FC Sion midfielder wills step in later this summer and immediately become a big-time ball-winner in the center of the field.

Koffie has already established himself as a guy that Heaps trusts to command the midfield alongside Scott Caldwell. The addition of a player like Koffie limits the sting of losing a player of Jones’ caliber while infusing youth to an already talented midfield.

“I think for us, the focus is always on the guys we have here and the things we can control,” Heaps said. “We feel that we’re adding guys that can make our team better, independent of that. That’s the most important thing for us. We went into this offseason knowing that we needed to add pieces. We felt like we did with Koffie and Kouassi. Unfortunately, Kouassi won’t be with us as soon as we like, but we feel over the course of the season and definitely next year, he will impact our group.

“I’m excited to see the entire midfield and the competition we have in the midfield and the chemistry building. We’ve played those guys together, we’ve played Kelyn (Rowe) in that group. We feel the combination with Lee at times is really good. I’m excited about what Gershon brings because I think Gershon can make Scotty a better player, Kelyn a better player, Lee a better player. It’s just a matter of how we put the pieces together when the season starts.”

In the attack, the Revs return an attacking force among the most fluid in the league. With Charlie Davies, Teal Bunbury, Juan Agudelo and Diego Fagundez, the Revs have options that can contribute either out wide or in the center of the field.

In particular, Heaps pointed to the play of Bunbury as a pleasing aspect of the preseason. The Revs head coach says that he expects to see Bunbury tucked inside a bit more this season while creating space with his speed in the center forward position.

Heaps has tended to stick with one-striker sets throughout his tenure, but the Revs boss says that may change a bit this season. Depending on the situation, Heaps is ready to use his wealth of forward options in a variety of ways while allowing Nguyen to flourish in behind them.

“We certainly look at it. It’s about the relationship that we can get up there,” Heaps said. “Is that the best thing? I think teams underestimate that we play four four forwards or three forward with Lee and how high he is and how we ask for our wingers to attack. I want to balance the team we’re playing against with the tactics we use and when we use them.

“That’s definitely an option whether it’s a 4-4-2 diamond or a 3-5-2 if we need to get extra guys forward. It’s something we have been working on and can see.”

Defensively, the Revs plan seems a bit more straight forward. Veterans Chris Tierney, Jose Goncalves and Andrew Farrell return to anchor the backline for another season. The club has also added Sporting CP centerback Sambinha. Following visa issues, Sambinha continues to works in to Heaps’ rotation while adding to an already deep defensive unit.

The big questions for the Revs defense lies at right back. Darius Barnes and London Woodberry return with a chance at the starting spot. First round draft pick Jordan McCrary is projected as an MLS-ready prospect who can certainly step in and start early in his rookie year.

“Right now, we’re in that phase of preseason where we’re starting to see who’s going to be a starter in that first week,” Heaps said of the fullback battle. “Even if a guy is starting the first week, it doesn’t mean he’s a guaranteed starter the next week. That’s what we like. We want guys every week that are battling for positions.

“We can change things, whether it’s something we see with a different performance or we feel we can add something tactical where maybe we need someone to shut down defensively or an advantage we se offensively where we move things around that way.”

As positions and roles continue to take shape, the Revs look to assert themselves as continued contenders in the Eastern Conference. In an ever-improving MLS landscape, the Revs are pushing for a bit of consistency, both on the field and in the standings, as the team pushes for an ever-elusive first MLS Cup.

“I think the East is definitely tough,” Heaps said. “After the two expansion teams now have gotten a year underneath their belt, we knew it would be tough for those teams to make the playoffs and I felt both teams made a gallant effort and did well to take points away from teams. This year, they’ve had a year underneath their belts. It’s going to be tougher.

“For me, the players that teams add, are they the right matches? I tend to like to be a team with less turnover where we add to our group, not wholesale changes. When you look at teams like Columbus and New York that continue to keep the same team together and add pieces here and there, thats how you know what your up against in the consistency standpoint. That’s what we’re trying to do as well.”

PROJECTED LINEUP