It was only seven weeks ago that the Portland Timbers hoisted the MLS Cup trophy under the glowing lights at MAPFRE Stadium in Columbus, Ohio as thousands of Timbers fans sung in elation and fireworks shot into the sky.

But the time to revel in the victory came to a sharp end Saturday morning as Timbers coach Caleb Porter gathered his team together at the Timbers training facility.

He told his squad to remember the feeling of holding that shining trophy and to draw confidence and motivation from the MLS Cup title.

But he also reminded them that it was time to focus on 2016.

"It certainly doesn't hurt that we won the MLS Cup and it doesn't make it harder this year, but it certainly doesn't make it easier," Porter said. "We want to do it again. That's going to be the goal, but we also understand it's a long way off."

While vying for the MLS Cup will once again be Portland's goal in 2016, the Timbers know that they have a long season ahead of them that will have plenty of ups and downs.

For now, Porter said the group is focused on following its process as it gears up for its home opener against the Columbus Crew on March 6, a rematch of the 2015 MLS Cup final.

"There has to be a bit of closure from last year," Timbers defender Nat Borchers said. "You can't walk out on the pitch and think you are going to win every single game because you won MLS Cup. We know how extremely difficult it was to get there and achieve that. I think that's in our minds for sure and it's really just a fresh start for us now."

The Timbers certainly did not appear to have any MLS Cup hangover on the first day of preseason training Saturday morning.

The veteran-heavy group intently ran through passing drills as they tried to slowly work their way back into form and integrate a handful of new players to the squad.

Even though the core of the MLS Cup-winning team remains with the Timbers, there are plenty of new faces on the roster.

Shortly after winning the MLS Cup, the Timbers transferred Jorge Villafana to Liga MX side Santos Laguna and declined the option on Maximiliano Urruti and Norberto Paparatto's contracts. They were then unable to reach an agreement to re-sign Rodney Wallace.

Portland also made a handful of offseason signings, most notably bringing in MLS veteran Chris Klute to fill Villafana's shoes, acquiring Jack McInerney to replace Urruti and luring free agent Ned Grabavoy to add depth to the midfield. Porter said the club is still looking to sign another winger to fill the void left by Wallace.

"You have to have some turnover," Porter said. "To just take the exact same group and try to do it again, often times that's a recipe for trouble because there's complacency that creeps in... I think the fact that we have an injection of new players, new blood, new energy, these guys will come in and increase the competitiveness."

Portland's new signings are all MLS-proven players, and that was by design. Knowing that they would have a very short offseason, the Timbers felt that bringing in a handful of MLS veterans would help them get off to a quicker start early in the season.

"Looking at this offseason, looking at the short turnaround, looking at the guys we lost and in trying to hit the ground running, we felt the best approach was to get MLS guys that would come in and know the league inside and out," Porter said. "It balances out our team, which has had a lot of international signings over the last several years."

The Timbers have yet to win a game in March since Porter took over as head coach in 2013.

But Porter believes that the calculated roster moves and the confidence that his squad is drawing from last year will be an asset as the group tries to start this season off on the right foot.

It's a long way away, but, after last season, the Timbers know that winning the MLS Cup trophy is achievable.

They are focused on doing everything they can to hoist that trophy again.

"We've set an expectation for ourselves, for this club, for these fans, where we're not just going to be happy (winning the MLS Cup once)," Timbers midfielder Jack Jewsbury said. "We want to make sure that this club is competitive on that level each and every year."

-- Jamie Goldberg | jgoldberg@oregonian.com

503-853-3761 | @jamiebgoldberg