Toronto FC’s 2024 Leagues Cup adventure kicks off on Saturday night away to the New York Red Bulls at Red Bull Arena.

After a gruelling month of MLS and Canadian Championship action, it’s a chance to refresh in a new competition.

“Exciting opportunity for the team,” said John Herdman on Friday. “We've been battling in MLS, a lot of games in recent times, fighting to stay in the playoffs, so this is a welcome distraction for the group to focus on a one-off game.”

“[That] really is what these are when you're in these types of competitions,” he continued. “A match that could even end in penalties if it goes to a draw. Little elements like practising them today have been important, but there's just an excitement that it's a different focus.”

“Big players, they get excited when the silverware is right in front of them. Toronto competed in this last year and there was a lot of excitement around the cup,” Herdman added. “We certainly will be going into Red Bulls with that cup mentality.”

Defender Shane O’Neill used that same word: “Real Excitement.”

“We set lofty goals for the season and this is definitely one of them,” he continued. “To really compete for a trophy. It's going to be a big challenge, the two games, so going into this one, if we get a win, it feels like a great opportunity to get out of the group.”

“Taking it one game at a time, but this is a huge game tomorrow for us. We look at every competition this year as an opportunity to win a trophy,” O’Neill doubled down. “We've really tried to live that, so this is a big one.”

Herdman, back in Toronto after a quick jaunt over to Paris to watch his son, Jay, play his first match at the 2024 Olympics with New Zealand, has noticed a change in the atmosphere around his side.

“There's been a light, bright mood around the camp this week,” he observed. “I missed a day-and-a-half because I had a crazy trip back over to Europe for one match, but there’s been a real lightness around the group. Just the smell of the trophy and a different setting, a different mentality.”

“When you go to Red Bulls, you're not picturing that it’s an away game [or] we’ve got to treat this like an away game. We’ve got to treat it like it's a do-or-die cup match, you've got to try and win that first game,” Herdman stressed. “We'll be doing everything we can to put it all out there and if it goes to penalties we’ll try and win the penalties to have the best situation to come up against Pachuca who we know have got that championship mettle.”

It comes at a good time for Toronto, who for more-or-less the first time this season have nearly the full squad available.

TFC have won two of their last three matches and have been able to field all four of Lorenzo Insigne, Federico Bernardeschi, Jonathan Osorio, and Richie Laryea in the last two outings.

“You felt it first half against Miami,” noted O’Neill, the impact of having key pieces on the field. “Good performance, unfortunate to go in at half-time down 1-0 and the second half got a little bit away from us, but then you go on the road, backs against the wall against Montréal and got a great result.”

“That game has got to be the standard now – the standard of commitment, the standard of work. Guys were putting their bodies on the line and guys were fighting.” he continued. “Obviously, it's a derby match so there's a little bit of an edge to it, now we’ve got to bring that for the next couple months because the reality is there's not that many games left so every point is going to be crucial to make the playoffs, which is obviously a huge priority. This Leagues Cup is just a great opportunity for the club to get their hands on another trophy.”

Toronto hosts CF Pachuca at BMO Field on August 4 in their second group stage match. The top two from each trio will advance to the knockout stage so there is no room for stumbles.

Asked how he would approach these matches, whether he would use them as a chance to spread minutes throughout the squad, Herdman was plain.

“We have to go all in,” he underlined. “If I get my mentality in that space, it takes that competitive edge out of everything, you start overthinking. When you have a six-day build into games, it's different.”

“It's when these games are coming back-to-back-to-back-to-back, that's where you've really got to start looking at red minuting and those red lines that players are flagged for potential injuries. In this period of time, with the lead in that we get, we can genuinely maximize and output our players to their limits,” Herdman explained. “That will get a little bit more difficult as CanChamps kicks back in at the end of the month, but we're going to enjoy this period of being able to play, rest, recover, work and play.”

TFC and Red Bulls have already met once this season with New York winning 3-0 in New Jersey on June 22. The two will meet again on October 2 at BMO Field in the penultimate match of Toronto’s 2024 MLS Regular Season.

“It was a tricky, tricky game,” recalled Herdman. “We went there with a pretty threadbare squad, in the run of the game we had some good chances that we didn't take and then you get punished by Red Bulls who are a highly transitional team.”

“They're a physical team, they're a tough team, and we needed that experience to understand their style of play,” he continued. “That's the first time I've really experienced that sort of physicality, they're a machine, they can just keep running and every mistake or turnover they seem to be able to transition quickly and catch you by surprise.”

“We’ll be less surprised, but training it and then experiencing it are two different things. The players have to be ready in that defensive transition moment and have our numbers a bit more secure,” Herdman cautioned. “While we've got to go and win that match, at the same time we've got to be managing that transitional moment.”

New York come into the match unbeaten in eight matches, drawing all but two of them. They will be feeling good having defeated FC Cincinnati 3-1 on Saturday.

“You know what to expect when you go into these games,” said O’Neill. “It's very chaotic and very dynamic and aggressive. Even though you know what to expect, it can still sometimes be chaotic and hectic.”

“It's not going to be an easy game,” he closed. “It's going to be a game where you’ve got to expect the unexpected and expect a little bit of chaos because that's what they're looking for.”