FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Five months ago, the season was spiraling out of the control for the New England Revolution. At least that’s the way it looked on the surface.

Stuck in the depths of an eight-game losing streak in mid-July and seemingly destined for a disappointing finish, it would have been easy for players to point fingers while their collective resolve unraveled.

But the personalities in the Revolution locker room weren’t about to go out like that. Not with plenty of the season left to fight for, and the belief in themselves still fully intact.

“It’s an awful feeling,” Revolution defender Chris Tierney said of the losing streak. “But you have to try to keep view of the big picture, which is that we still have a quality squad that we know at the end of the season, we have enough to put ourselves in the playoffs, and we did.”

That late-season launch into the postseason, which has put the Revolution on the doorstep of its first championship, didn’t come easy though. While the belief in each other, and by extension the collective unit, never wavered, it would take plenty of grunt work to dig themselves out of their humbling rut.

After suffering a 5-1 thrashing to the LA Galaxy on July 16, Revolution coach Jay Heaps decided to insert spark plug Charlie Davies into the lineup for the first time. At the time, it appeared to be a bit of a risky move. Davies battled through injuries during the first half of the season and hadn’t been healthy enough to get a start.

But the Revolution striker was eager to prove himself, even if meant that he’d have to play a different role (target man) than the one he was accustomed to (second striker).

“He was key to that turnaround,” Heaps said. “He really helped us kind of realize that he was going to do different things, he was going to extend the field, a little different tactically than what we had had (before).”

Though the Revolution ultimately fell in Davies’ first start, they rallied behind the affable forward. His positive personality was a beacon behind the scenes, and it boosted the team’s spirits on the pitch, where the Revolution put it to good use against the Rapids on July 30.

In a match that featured a Davies assist on Lee Nguyen’s opening goal and showed his attacking presence throughout, the Revolution finally had put their losing streak out to pasture. And not long after, the Revolution kick-started an impressive late-season tear.

“We just started playing like ourselves again,” Tierney said. “Individual performances picked up, we kind of took a long look in the mirror and said, ‘What am I not doing here that’s hurting us?’ Everyone improved their performances individually, and we got results as a team.”

While the Revolution were finding their form, their stock skyrocketed when Jermaine Jones joined the club in late August. The high-priced midfielder immediately jumped into the picture and made his presence felt.

“He just brings a certain swagger and professionalism,” Tierney said. “When you’re going into a game and you’ve got Jermaine next to you, your chest puffs out a little bit more because he’s a commanding figure.”

But Jones was more than just a splashy signing made to appease the fan base or stoke national interest, which is what many MLS clubs have done when bringing in players of his caliber.

“He definitely solidified us,” Heaps said. “I think we had the talent to get there, but I don’t think we had all the right pieces without him. We knew we wanted a piece like that, but I think his impact has been -- I still think it’s understated because he’s doing so many things for us, not just on the field, but off the field.”

With Jones in tow and a solid core in place, the Revolution ripped off nine wins in their last 11 regular-season games and tallied a postseason-high 11 goals en route to their first final in seven years. A far cry from their midseason struggles, no doubt.

But looking back on it, Tierney believes that the turnaround started with an unshakable demeanor that kept the Revolution from sinking into a state of despair.

“It just took cool heads, to be honest,” Tierney said. “You try to not get too emotional about wins and losses in this league because it’s a long season. You don’t have to look further than us to show that you can lose eight games (in a row), and still make it to the final.”