As Fury FC trained for the second-last time at TD Place this season Wednesday morning, it was also the second-last time a number of this year's players will practice at Lansdowne before moving on.

With year one nearly in the books for the expansion soccer club, head coach Marc Dos Santos now has the benefit of a year's worth of evaluation to figure out how the club is going to improve on it's 7-5-14 (W-T-L) record heading into Saturday's finale in Florida.

Dos Santos hasn't been shy about saying he would make changes to improve weaknesses that have been obvious at times this season. It's no secret the veteran coach wants to strengthen his back line as well as adding some additional power up front.

Asked if the team would have a significantly new look next season, Dos Santos didn't beat around the bush.

"Absolutely, there will be at least eight, nine new names for sure," he said.

While cuts won't be announced until next week, it's pretty clear who the players are that will make up the core of the group going forward. Captain Richie Ryan, midfielder Nicki Paterson, defender Mason Trafford, forward Tommy Heinemann and goalkeeper Romuald Peiser are all under contract through next season and are all expected back. Young talent like midfielder Mauro Eustaquio, forward/defender Phil Davies, defender Drew Beckie, forward Carl Haworth and forward Oliver have not yet signed new deals but it would be surprising if any of them left the club. Keeper Devala Gorrick, who lost his starting job to Peiser mid-season, likely won't return to Fury, while defender Ryan Richter, who came to the club on loan from Toronto FC this season, could return. Richter has enjoyed his time here and while he has a year left on his deal at Toronto, he'd rather be somewhere where he will get minutes. Richter can sign with another club provided the team is not in MLS.

But before Dos Santos gets to tweaking his roster, the team must first try to close out the current season on a winning note after dropping the last three matches in a row. With the playoffs long since out of reach, Dos Santos called the week of training before the final game a "tough" one.

"It's not an easy week," he said. "It's a week where we know it's ending, we want it to go for longer but at the same time we're excited about the future, we're excited about what we're going to do next."

That the game doesn't matter to Ottawa in the standings shouldn't be part of the equation, said the coach.

"It's important that we always respect the Ottawa Fury, the logo, the club," he said. "We're going there to win, we're going there with a winning mentality."

RYAN OUT

Fury will be without the services of its captain this weekend after Richie Ryan was shown a red card in the dying minutes of Sunday's home loss to Indy Eleven. Ryan took exception to a hard tackle from an opposing player and knocked the player to the turf when he got to his feet.

The way the game was going - it was likely Ottawa's most listless performance of the season - it's hard to blame Ryan for getting frustrated, though Dos Santos would like his captain to reign in the emotion a little bit.

"He has to channel his frustration, he knows that," Dos Santos said. "Players are going to be on him, he's one of the best players in the league, one of the best midfielders in the league.

"He has to be careful."

Twitter: @chrishofley