Portland Timbers Training Quotes and Notes: Critical Depth

Once again the Portland Timbers practiced under skies threatening to open up and pour down rain at their Beaverton training facility, but this time the rain started to come down just before the Timbers wrapped up for the day. Today's session was a closed one as the Timbers begin their preparations for the weekend's Cascadia Cup match against the Vancouver Whitecaps.

Jack Jewsbury, who has a more than passing familiarity with Cascadia Cup matches against Vancouver, addressed the team's expectations for this weekend.

We're not happy with were we are at, to a certain extent, right now. Nothing is done, so for us it is just a mentality of continuing to keep the teams that are below us even further below us and separate us even more because the reality is that we want to get one of those top three spots.

Jewsbury also shared his thoughts on what will allow the Timbers to make a push into one of the top spots in the league.

It's a matter of us just being consistent in what we do. Days like today where we are playing eleven on eleven, the guys on the squad are so deep that we can almost mimic certain things in the game and I think that is crucial going into every weekend.

Injuries and Absences

Diego Valeri continued spending time separate from the rest of the team today, riding an exercise bike on the sidelines of practice during the team warmups before doing some jogging on the sidelines under the direction of John Cone as practice closed. Yesterday Valeri spent the entirety of the day's abbreviated practice on an exercise bike.

Mikael Silvestre, who has been back on the training pitch for two weeks since making his return from knee surgery early in the season, was once again warming up with the team before breaking off to work with Cone as practice closed.

Brad Ring, who was out yesterday thanks to a bruised foot, was again standing on the sidelines at practice today.