The early indicators were all good, and Phillip Dos Santos is about to have even more answers about the 2023 edition of Valour FC revealed over the rest of the week.

Valour FC’s 2023 debut – a solid 2-nil road win over York United FC on Sunday – was enthralling for any number of reasons, including the Canadian Premier League debuts of players like Pacifique Niyongabire, Guillaume Pianelli, Kian Williams, Jaime Siaj and Matthew Chandler along with the splendid returns from injury by Raphael Ohin and Anthony Novak.

And now the team’s overall depth is about to already be tested with Wednesday’s Canadian Championship match versus TSS Rovers in Burnaby, B.C. quickly followed by the home opener Saturday at 6 p.m. at IG Field.

“We have to be careful. We have to be mindful that there’s a home opener coming,” said Dos Santos in a phone interview from Vancouver. “When we talk about being happy with the depth of our roster, it’s situations like these when we need to use that depth. There’s going to be guys who didn’t play on the weekend or who didn’t have much time on the weekend who are going to need to be available and ready to help the team.

“We go one game at a time and we’re taking this game against TSS Rovers as the most-important game right now. But we also understand that part of being competitive is being fresh and I want to put a fresh team out there, a team that could play with equal intensity and make sure we’re able to take control of the game and get into the next round of the Canadian Championship.”

Valour is already without veteran centre back Andrew Jean-Baptiste, fullbacks Jordan Haynes and Eskander Mzoughi and midfielder Marcello Polisi, all of whom

did not make the road trip due to injury.

Chandler, Siaj, midfielder Juan-Pablo Sanchez and winger Jared Ulloa all came off the bench on Sunday, and the club has also travelled forward Walter Poncé, midfielder Kevin Rendón and goalkeeper Jordan Tisseur.

Dos Santos wasn’t tipping his hand as to his starting XI and said this when asked if the busy week factored into his substitutions on Sunday: “Not at all. Not even during the game. It didn’t cross my mind. I made the substitutions I needed to make in order to win the game (Sunday) and that’s the only thing I had on my mind.”

That said, expect the lineup to look different against TSS Rovers – last year’s League1 British Columbia champions – with Saturday’s home opener on the horizon. Another factor: early in the season it’s important to give as many players as possible a taste of action to keep everyone engaged.

“It also brings the team together when you’re utilizing your roster, and everyone feels that they’re part of the process,” said Dos Santos. “As a coach and you say, ‘We trust you and we believe in this team’ and then if you never go into your depth, your words don’t match your actions.

“It’s important, especially this early in the season, to remember that today’s starting lineup might not be the same in a few weeks because some guys are going to use their opportunities to respond and will be in better form on any given day. That can only be seen if players are out there and getting their opportunities.”

Those last two sentences are critical, especially in comparison to this time last season. Visa issues and injuries to start the season meant Dos Santos & Co. had a smaller roster to work with right from the opener.

The depth this year, even with the early-season injuries, seems considerably better. It also means the starting lineup isn’t chiselled in stone.

“This is the old saying, ‘You help me, I’ll help you,’” said Dos Santos. “The player needs to show indicators throughout the week. Confidence is a feeling and for me to have the confidence to put a player on the field, that feeling needs to be transmitted to me. Very often I say you don’t choose not to have the confidence on a player – you want to, but if you feel there’s something in the dynamic or the form or in the way the team is going to shape up and the individual is not going to give you the guarantees they need to go on the pitch and help you win, then you’re always going to be doubtful.

“As a coach, I don’t want to live like that. I say, ‘Yes, there’s going to be opportunities. Yes, there’s going to be chances for players to play.’ But they also have to do their part on a daily basis and when they do get their 10, 20 and 30 minutes.

“Right now, we believe everyone is in a good moment. It’s early in the season. We’re not going to do a full squad rotation because I feel like there’s a lot of good things we need to keep building on and I don’t think that would be the wise thing to do. We respect the opposition, and we want to make sure we put the best team out there, the one that’s going to be more capable and the one that’s going to give us the best guarantees to win the game.”