Toronto FC assistant coach Nick Dasovic knows the depth of the squad will be tested over the next month as the team plays seven matches, including five on the road, beginning at Real Salt Lake on Saturday night (kick off 9:00 p.m. ET on Rogers Sportsnet).

“Every team in MLS has to deal with a busy schedule and a lot of travel so we can’t make excuses but we have to do our best to make sure the players are ready and not overworked in training,” he said. “The players will be as close to 100 percent as they can be and if we have to mix the team up to make sure everyone is good to go then we will have to look at that.”

“Using the depth of our squad will be key over the next month. We won’t have much time for training because there will be a lot of travel and regeneration. The players will need to take good care of their bodies both on and off the field, and if they do that, it will give us a good chance to win games.”

Ty Harden and Nick Garcia did not make the trip to Utah after leaving Wednesday’s win over Montreal due to injury. “Nick is taking a few days off to make sure he is recovered from the knock he took to the head. Ty needed stitches and we will keep a close eye on him in the coming days.”

Toronto’s last visit to Rio Tinto Stadium ended in a 3-0 defeat. “Up to 20 minutes last year I thought we took the game to Salt Lake last year, but we made a mistake to give them the first goal and we just died after that. Defensively we have to be strong on Saturday and try to frustrate them, when we have done that job we can try to get at them.”

“Overall we have won three of our last four matches and we are going in the right direction. People in the stands are seeing a bit of grit about this team. There is plenty of fight and spirit and that has been instilled throughout the squad in matches and in training. We know we’re not where we want to be yet, but we are definitely moving in the right direction.”