Coach is happy with Shalrie's contract extension

FOXBOROUGH, USA, Oct 22 – The New England Revolution coach Steve Nicol has welcomed the contract extension signed by Grenadian international Shalrie Joseph.

Joseph and defender Jay Heaps signed contracts extensions with the Revs last week. Both players have been with the team for more than four seasons.

"I am delighted Shalrie is staying with us, to be honest," Nicol said. "Had he gone, it would have been a huge hole to fill. He's a guy any coach in the league would want and he is playing in a place on the park where he can make the biggest impact. The biggest thing about him is that any coach in the league would want him on their team."

Nicol has been impressed by Joseph's ability to focus while being wooed by a rich foreign club.

Joseph at one stage was considering a $1 million-plus offer from Scottish side Celtic. But the contract renewal with the Revs is believed to be worth $1.5 million over four years.

"He had a chance to move and didn't, and the fact is, on the field, it never, ever affected him," Nicol said. "I've been around a long time and I don't remember seeing a player who had gone through having a chance to go, then not move on, and going through all the other stuff - but on Saturday he has given it all to the team and his teammates. He wants to stay and win a championship. And that helps when you try bringing players onto your team.

"Every game he's in, it's professional pride. He wants the team to win. If we have 11 players who hate losing as much as he does, we have a chance."

The Grenadian international said the Revolution's three-game winless streak (0-2-1) to close the regular season will not negatively affect the team in the playoffs. "We just have to put this behind us and get ready for the playoffs," Joseph said. "This was like a playoff atmosphere and we know it's going to be crazy in New York. We learned a lot in the last three games. We are going to have a great week in practice and get ready for New York."

The Revolution tied 2-2 away to Toronto FC on Saturday and starts their Eastern Conference playoffs on Saturday when they visit the New York Red Bulls at Giants Stadium in New Jersey.