But Miller says that he would only look at players who were committed to the NASL, not a player who saw it as a stop-gap solution or a step down from MLS.

Colin Miller believes that the length of his contract is a message to the naysayers who think that FC Edmonton won't be around much longer.

“There wouldn’t be a greater joy than to beat my former team and knock them out of a playoff spot and get myself into it. That’s what’s soccer is all about. Teams that win championships, to get to a championship game. On Saturday, this game is as big as a championship game for us. If we lose, we’re out. If we tie, you can say that we are out as well. We have to go there with the mentality that we have to get three points.”

Canadian national-team coach Benito Floro is going to give wunderkind Hanson Boakai the chance to play with the big boys.

Since an expansion of the stadium isn’t in the cards yet — and the team has broken the 4,000-ticket mark just twice this season — the fact that the NASL club continues to grow is a testament to the Fath family’s commitment to the game in Canada.

The FIFA approved surface means that Clarke can be used as a training facility for the upcoming U-20 Women’s World Cup and the Women’s World Cup in 2015. The World Cup matches happen next door at the 56,000-seat Commonwealth Stadium. FCE General Manager Rod Proudfoot said that the club must vacate Clarke Stadium between May 26 and July 8 of next year, as FIFA takes over the venue and does not allow it to be shared. Likewise, FIFA has informed the CFL Eskimos that they won’t be allowed to be in Commonwealth (or train at Clarke) during that window.

The FC Edmonton coaching staff refers to him as the “wee man.” But, the shoulders on Hanson Boakai’s five-foot-four body will have to carry a lot of weight.

Now that Yallop is back in the realm of the employed, he join San Jose coach Mark Watson (and Yallop’s former assistant) as Canadian coaches in MLS. Now add to that the fact there are three Canadian coaches currently employed in NASL: FC Edmonton’s Colin Miller, San Antonio Scorpions interim boss Alen Marcina and Ottawa Fury head man Marc Dos Santos. Yes, we include Dos Santos because, even though the Fury won’t begin NASL play till 2014, Dos Santos is already working to identify players and hire his staff.

FCE assistant coach Jeff Paulus said the search for a league for the team’s elite youth players is ongoing, and a return to the Alberta Major Soccer League hasn’t been ruled out. What is out of the question, though, is FCE’s Reserves joining any American-based league, including the PDL. The costs are simply too prohibitive.

Finding the goals to turn draws into wins is a priority for the team, but there were no new faces at training sessions Monday at the Commonwealth Fieldhouse.