WAYNE, Pa. – Bethlehem Steel FC Head Coach Brendan Burke got the chance to put his squad through its paces for the first time on Thursday as the second-year side began its preseason camp at the YSC Sports complex, and was pleased by what he saw as the side’s returning players blended with newcomers and numerous trialists looking to earn a place in the squad.

After narrowly missing out on a place in the USL Cup Playoffs in its opening season, the club notably added All-League defender Hugh Roberts – formerly of the Richmond Kickers – and retained the likes of Cory Burke, James Chambers and Josh Heard, all of whom had strong seasons for the club in 2016.

After two short but rigorous sessions that included a full 11-on-11 scrimmage to conclude, Burke said he was encouraged by the energy within the group, and the quality on display.

“We have a lot of trialists in the first week, but the quality was good, the standard was higher than I expected, which is always a pleasant surprise,” Burke told the club website. “The next few days will bring a similar atmosphere in terms of the number of training sessions and the intensity of training. We’re happy with where we started today.”

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Brown was one of two signed players absent from camp, with the young forward currently in Chattanooga, Tenn. with the Jamaica National Team as it prepares to take on the United States in an international exhibition on Friday night (7 p.m. ET | Fox Sports 1). The other absentee was former PDL standout Santi Moar, who was invited to the Philadelphia Union’s preseason camp in Clearwater, Fla.

With a number of players to evaluate as the club looks to build its roster, though, there was plenty of talent for Burke and his staff to work with as the team looks to improve on the foundation its first season put in place.

“Making sure that we all understand and are on the same page in terms of the system and the style of play is very important in the first week, laying the foundation for more difficult tasks down the road in terms of tactics and things like that,” Burke said. “As long as we understand out style of play and keep things simple this first week and they show us they can execute efficiently and at a high tempo, then we’re happy.”