The grind continues on Saturday night for Toronto FC.

The visit of Philadelphia Union to BMO Field will be TFC’s fifth game since June 29 and two more lie on the other side before the 2024 Leagues Cup kicks off on July 27 at Red Bull Arena.

This gauntlet of matches has come at a difficult time for the club, the latest setback being the 2-1 loss away to Forge FC in the opening leg of the Canadian Championship semifinal between the two clubs on Wednesday in Hamilton.

“It’s up and down,” said John Herdman on Friday of the mood in the team. “To say their not hurting is an understatement, but you have to bring it back to clarity: you’re still in the playoffs, you’re still in the Canadian Championship – the away goal will count, you’re coming into a [Leagues] Cup, you are going to have some new signings, there's going to be players coming back from injury, you're going to have your captain [Jonathan Osorio] back with Richie Laryea. It’s going to turn; it will turn.”

“Even the game the other night at Forge, it was a competitive match in a tough environment against a tough team, but there's moments there. There's a goal that was clearly onside that was not given, there's chances that you could have put away and probably they could have as well,” he continued. “The Columbus game, the first goal, did it go off the pitch? Fede [Federico Bernardeschi] says it didn’t, the linesman on the other side said it did.”

“We know something is going to turn for us, but we have to make it turn. In enough games in the last eight, we've been there or there about to get that win,” Herdman pointed out. “We believe in each other, we believe in the process, and we're sticking to it.”

Since returning from the mini-break at the start of June, suspension, injury, international duty, and misfortune have compounded.

“On paper, we're one of the most talented teams in MLS,” said Kosi Thompson. “I don't think anyone will doubt that. Football has a lot of components; it has a lot more to do with than just talent. The other aspects have not been at the line that we have set. That has had a big effect on us and we're ready to turn it around.”

“We need to go into every game with a clear mindset,” he added. “Of the times that we're in, what we need from each other, what we need from the staff, what we need from the fans, and with the mindset that we've talked a lot and we've said everything that needs to be said and it's time for the actions to take place and come away with a win.”

The Eastern Conference is a jumble. Seven points separate the nine teams vying for the final three playoff berths. Every single game going forward will be vitally important. Toronto currently holds the final play-in spot.

“There’s games where we've been in, we felt we deserved more, there’s games where we haven't been in and didn't deserve anything,” summarized Herdman. “It's been that sort of run, but we feel it's going to turn at some point.”

“Philly is in a very similar situation to us, missing a lot of players; Philly have been suffering as well,” he continued. “This is a game where, with the team that we’ll be able to put out, we should be able to get a win at home. And that's our commitment, to really push to get that win to get our season back on track.”

Jim Curtin’s Union side are one of the teams chasing TFC. Coming off a scoreless draw at home against the New York Red Bulls last weekend, Philadelphia are winless in nine and have lost their last three matches on the road.

The two played out a 0-0 draw at Subaru Park on May 29.

“We did well against them in their place,” recalled Herdman. “They played with a diamond [midfield] at home, it's typically a really consistent style. What they’ll look for is that direct in behind your wide centre-backs, they'll look to get crosses in early – they've got the highest cross ratio in the league.”

“They're a very direct team, very consistent with the pattern underneath. They rely on [Kai] Wagner to do what he does, terrific service into the box, and they're going to crash the box with three, four players,” he continued. “How we set up last time was to nullify the threat behind and then deal with the second phase underneath, then defend the box. We were in a much better rhythm in that stage defensively, we kept a clean-sheet in that game, so it's trying to remind the players of that identity that they were able to bring. I don't think you'll see a cavalier approach at home; there will be a more stingy approach for this game.”

“I anticipate Jim will probably shift to a back-five, he got some success with that, but in terms of his attacking rhythm, he still holds that that shape he has in the diamond with a front two and an attacking mid underneath that gives him that threat in behind and off the front,” Herdman noted. “There will be the consistency that he'll bring, but he'll be focusing on clean-sheets as well.”

Daniel Gazdag leads the Union with 11 goals, while Wagner has chipped in six assists.

In addition to the returns of Osorio and Laryea following Canada’s third-place match against Uruguay at the Copa América on Saturday night, an update from Canada Soccer means that the transfer window is now open for Canadian-based MLS clubs.

It will, however, now close on August 8 instead of August 14 with the rest of the league.

Herdman expects reinforcements.

“Absolutely, we're excited,” he said. “There’s a couple of things the front office have been working on for a long time and we're pretty confident that it's going to be a good start to the window for us.”

“It comes with its pros and cons: opening early gives you a chance to get someone in early, but it closes early so you missed the deadline day where a lot of deals get done,” Herdman closed. “That can be a bit of a challenge, so we'll roll with the punches.”