OTTAWA – Ottawa Fury FC opened training camp at the RA Centre on Monday, and already the intensity of the workouts are instilling the belief that the club’s first season in the USL will be a successful one.

With a number of returning players getting a first proper chance to get to know their new teammates on the field as well, everyone appears happy to be getting back into the swing of things with just over six weeks until the new season kicks off.

“It’s been a long offseason, so we’re very happy to be back,” said returning midfielder Lance Rozeboom. “It’s early in camp, but I think that we have a great group of guys. The coach believes in this group, we believe in this group and even if it’s only been a couple of days, I think that this team has great character.”

Rozeboom finished tied for the most appearances for Fury FC a season ago, and is joined by the likes of Canadian internationals Carl Haworth and Jamar Dixon among those returning to the squad this year. Almost all of the newcomers have also arrived, with former Rochester Rhinos forward Steevan Dos Santos expected to be in town by the end of the week.

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Head Coach Paul Dalglish said the opening few days of camp have been exciting for him as he sees the groundwork being laid for a side that will epitomize the qualities he’s looking for in a club.

“We have a team that will play with fire and that will be together,” said Dalglish. “It’s my team and you can already see what a Paul Dalglish team looks like, with real-high work rate, real-high energy and competitiveness. We want to be the hardest team to play against this year and it all starts at training.”

Fury FC will continue training at the RA Centre for the next week, and then head to Florida’s IMG Academy on February 19 for a week-long stint that will see the side face a trio of USL opponents in Saint Louis FC, OKC Energy FC and FC Cincinnati.