For the first time in a few years, there is good amount of positive energy coming out of Chester, Pennsylvania and its surrounding area as the Philadelphia Union embark on a new Major League Soccer campaign.

The reinvigorated approach to the season comes from the top and new sporting director Earnie Stewart, who moved to the Union from AZ Alkmaar at the end of the 2015 regular season.

Stewart and head coach Jim Curtin have rebuilt the roster by adding players with experience through the transfer window, and by way of an impressive draft class that featured three top-six picks in the first round.

In addition to improving the quality of the roster, Stewart has built up the depth of the squad as well. One of his first goals as sporting director was to have two players at every position for the start of the 2016 season.

“Earnie set forth in the offseason to get two guys at each position pushing each other,” Curtin said during the team’s media day. “We’ve done that so far. It’s early. I’m not naive. It’s going to take some time and we’re going to have to test ourselves against some MLS competition to really know, but good starting points.”

The goals for the two-time U.S. Open Cup runner-up is to qualify for the postseason for the first time since 2011 and to make a deep cup run once again as they search for the elusive trophy.

The new approach should reward the Union in the long run, but with four of their first six games on the road, the Union may not display improvements until the middle of the season.

Here’s a closer look at the 2016 Philadelphia Union:

PHILADELPHIA UNION SEASON PREVIEW

2015 FINISH: 10-17-7 (9th in Eastern Conference)

KEY ACQUISITIONS: Chris Pontius, Roland Alberg, Ilsinho, Walter Restrepo, Anderson Conceicao, Ken Tribbett

KEY LOSSES: Cristian Maidana, Andrew Wenger, Fernando Aristeguieta, Conor Casey, Michael Lahoud, Zach Pfeffer, Ethan White, Steven Vitoria

NEWCOMER TO WATCH: Chris Pontius

If he stays healthy, the 28-year-old midfielder, who was acquired in a trade with D.C. United, should be able to bring quality and experience to the Union attack. The problem is Pontius hasn’t played close to a whole season since 2012, when he scored 12 goals for D.C. If he can replicate that type of production, Philadelphia will be able to attack opposing defenses with quality on both wings and depth in the latter stages of matches.

PRESSURE IS ON: Tranquillo Barnetta

Tranquillo Barnetta will be one of the many players in the Union attack asked to fill the void left by the departure of Cristian Maidana and his league-high 15 assists. As the experienced playmaker in the middle of the pitch, Barnetta will be a key cog in the Union attack that has been revamped by Stewart and Curtin during the offseason. If he links up well with the pair of defensive midfielders and distributes well out to the wingers, Barnetta should create plenty of space for C.J. Sapong to finish in the box. Although there a lot of concerns about the team’s defense, the Union will only go as far as the Barnetta-led attack takes them.

OUTLOOK

The revamped Union roster is deeper than last season with two players at each position as per Stewart’s request at the start of the offseason. The competition for places every week should be a good thing for the Union as they push for the Eastern Conference playoffs.

“Everyone has to give his best every practice, every game because the next guy is waiting behind you,” Barnetta said. “It makes the team better. It’s what I knew from Europe because it is always like this. It makes every player better.”

The only slight concern about the depth comes at forward, where Sapong and rookie Fabian Herbers are the only options.

However, the Union have a plethora of attack-minded midfielders that should be able to help replace Maidana’s production.

“We’re working hard and we of course have a couple of new guys and it will take some time to figure out how they think on the field,” Barnetta said of the attack. “We know that not everything is perfect yet, but if we keep going like this, we’ll be ready for the first game.”

“I think we have more quality as a whole,” Barnetta continued. “Even if someone is injured or can’t play for whatever reason, we have really good guys behind. It’s an important thing because the season will be long and it’s good if you have a lot of good guys.”

One of the keys for the Union as a whole in 2016 will be getting off to a fast start and keeping confidence in the team. Philadelphia has made a habit of blowing leads and getting too far behind in the standings during the summer over the past few years.

“I talked to the guys and they said that is one of the hardest parts last year that they had a bad start and then you’re running behind,” Barnetta said. “

Starting fast out of the gates won’t be easy for Philadelphia with road trips to FC Dallas and Columbus to start the season, but the players are up for the task.

“In the opening stages (of preseason), we set a tone that’s it’s going to be a difficult preseason,” Curtin said. “One where we know going into March 6 against FC Dallas we have to be able to out run teams. It’s a goal we’ve set for ourselves.”

“That will be a goal for us to make a good start,” the Swiss international said. “We know it will be hard because we have two games on the road first and we’ll try to get some points there and then look forward to the home opener on March 20 (against New England).”

“If you win, you have more confidence, you have a good feeling in the team and that’s the most important thing for the first games,” Barnetta continued. “Even if you can’t earn a point in the first game. We look forward to making good performances on the road and maybe take some points with us.”

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP