LEHI — Real Salt Lake may be in the midst of an 18-day layoff from MLS play, but that hardly means the players are getting a break.

"We have been handling this as a mini preseason," said coach Jason Kreis of the scheduling quirk. "We have been getting some real hard work done, get some guys that have been lacking a little bit of fitness due to injury or suspension that has kept them from playing regularly, to step them forward in the fitness.

"We are trying to all get on the same page about how tactically we want to play and what it means to be a part of the team," Kreis continued. "I think we've started to make strides in that direction and we are taking some good steps that way."

Following RSL's last league match, a disheartening 3-0 loss at Dallas on Sept. 26 when the team never really showed up and fell behind by two goals in the opening 10 minutes, Kreis expressed that some hard work was in store for the players. Always one of the fittest on the team during his playing days, the coach has been true to his word.

"It is tough, but a lot of it is mental," team captain Kyle Beckerman said of some of the physically demanding practices. "You think about it all night. You are like, 'Man, what is tomorrow going to bring?' And then when you bulk it up (fitness work) in a short period of time your body feels it a little bit. It was good for us, though. We needed it. I think everybody is pretty happy that we got done with it.

"It's been a little preseason," added Beckerman. "We just have some things we are trying to figure out, give ourselves a chance to be at top level. We are doing some fitness, working hard, and that is all we really know what to do right now, to work hard."

Along with the all the hard work, a common theme expressed has been getting back to the basics.

"I think it has been good for us," said defender Nat Borchers. "We needed to kind of go back to basics and focus on what has made us good as a team and that is: fitness, working hard and defensive work. We have been doing that all this week and it has been good.

"It has been tough, but we are all professionals here," Borchers continued. "We have all been through difficult stretches and difficult parts of seasons. We all know what to do with our bodies to prepare. Personally, I am excited for it, to see how we respond."

Players are using professionalism and the knowledge they are not mathematically eliminated from the playoff race to find motivation to make it though the difficult practices.

"Obviously, we need three wins the rest of the way, nothing else will give us a chance to get in," said Borchers. "We will take it one game at a time and put in a full effort to get wins."

"The way we have to look at it right now is that the playoffs have begun and we have to win three games to advance. There is no reason to hang our heads right now," added Beckerman.

Real is also trying to stay sharp during its layoff with a pair of friendlies. RSL defeated BYU 4-1 Friday night in an exhibition match, and it has a game scheduled Wednesday against one of the most popular teams in the world with Mexican-league giant Chivas.

e-mail: mblack@desnews.com