Tuesday after practice, ASN spoke with coach Steve Nicol and three-time MLS Cup winner Chris Albright about the Revolution’s run for the Cup this season.

ASN: Does this team have what it takes to make it to the finals?

Nicol: Yes, for the word.

Albright: Absolutely, absolutely. It’s just about getting on our own and we’ve got the guys to do that.

ASN: You’ve struggled at home this year. Why is that?

Nicol: We’ve certainly not won as many times at home as we’ve liked to, partly because teams are sitting tight. It’s hard to break people down when there’s so many people in the box. It just becomes a fight. At the same time, we haven’t moved the ball as well as we’ve liked at home either, so it’s a combination of those two things.

ASN: In your playing experience, can you recall a time when your team struggled in the season but came to win a championship?

Nicol: This is the only real place I’ve played where you did a playoff system, the rest has been a whole season. But yeah, you’re not always at your best and on some occasions the team that wins the title is sometimes the team that shows more when they’re not at their best than anything else. When you’re not at your best, if you can fight and struggle and do all the rotten jobs and get a victory – that’s what it’s about when you’re not at your best.

ASN: So what is that quality? Against DCU last week, Castro jump started the match and at the second half, Twellman came out of the gates at the top of his game. What gets a player to that point?

Nicol: Training, discipline, attitude – it’s all those things.

ASN: But they bring that to every game and the performance isn’t always the same.

Nicol: But it’s a team game, you need everybody to bring it all the time. It’s no good three or four guys be doing that, you need everybody to do that. That’s what it’s all about, particularly at playoff time. You want to have good form, but you need to be disciplined, you need to be mentally strong, your attitude has to be right, and most of all you need to make good decisions. That’s the biggest problem we have at the moment – we’re not making good decisions. We’re fit enough, we’re strong enough, we’ve got good players, we’re just making some bad decisions and when you do that sometimes you pay for them, which happened on Thursday night. We made two bad decisions and lost two goals. Sometimes you get away with it and sometimes you don’t, and at the moment we’re not getting away with it.

ASN: Chris Albright won the MLS Cup with DC United in 1999 and with the Galaxy in 2002 and 2005. What kind of leadership is he bringing right now?

Nicol: Playing experience – been there and done it – playing experience. Chris Albright and the usual suspects who’ve been to the finals and been at the playoffs – it has to come from them on the field.

Albright: The playoff games are about trying to keep a zero in the back. You always put yourself in the game. You see a lot of 1-0 games in the playoffs, which means defend first and if you can get forward, get forward. I mean, I’ve been through it, but these guys have been through too, so we all kind of know what it takes.

ASN: The team has been struggling lately. What is the mood of the team approaching the playoffs?

Albright: I think it’s good. These guys always keep it good and light, and we’re obviously focused, but we know how we can play and we haven’t played up to that standard in a while – I guess we’re saving it for the playoffs.

ASN: DCU outperformed expectations Thursday night and they had young players out there. Under pressure in the playoffs, what makes some players step up?

Albright: Some people have that mentality. Some young kids are able to go out and play like they’re playing a club game and kind of forget what stage they’re on, and you see those guys often have the most success. When the moment gets too big for some guys, that’s when they don’t perform.

ASN: Castro, Twellman, and you had strong performances in the DCU game. Everyone brings their game to every game, but it’s not always there. How do you bring your best game?

Albright: Yeah, it’s just about playing the right way. We’re up 1-0 in the 58th minute or whatever at DC and we’re in a good spot, and I think we just panic a little bit and don’t keep possession of the ball, and guys try to do more than what their role is on the field. So if we can get back to everybody just doing their job, I think we’ll be okay.

ASN: How important is getting the home field advantage with Chicago in the conference semi-finals?

Albright: Important. I guess [the Revolution] have done it all the times they’ve gone on, they’ve had the home game second here in New England. Me, I think you’ve got to play away and you’ve got to play home, so to me, it doesn’t really make much of a difference, but these guys have gotten through with the home game second. But more so than that, we’re going to go out and just try to play well and get a win. I think that’s important.