TORONTO – Toronto FC are looking at it as a new beginning.

Aron Winter is out after a start that set records for futility. These days, the Reds have a new head coach, Paul Mariner, and they are in the final days of a three-week break from competition.

READ: Toronto part ways with embattled head coach Aron Winter

Toronto already won their final two games before the break, including capturing the Amway Canadian Championship and the CONCACAF Champions League spot that comes with it, and are now freshly rested and ready to return to action.

The enthusiasm showed on Monday in the Reds’ first workout under Mariner at their new training center at Downsview Park.

WATCH: Mariner on taking over at TFC

“Everyone was excited about today,” midfielder Terry Dunfield said. “It’s almost like, not to give you a cliché, our season starts now.”

In the league at least, their season has hardly begun.

Despite being mired in the basement after a 1-9-0 start that resulted in Aron Winter being replaced last Thursday, TFC have played the fewest matches in the league and their playoff hopes aren’t extinguished just yet.

However, that glimmer of hope couldn’t save Winter’s job.

“I have to say it’s a pity for Aron that he’s not here,” midfielder and team captain Torsten Frings said. “But I think it’s business. When you lose too many games, the coach [is replaced]. It’s a pity for him.”

Toronto resume their season with two games on the road against what most consider elite Eastern Conference squads, heading to Kansas City on Saturday before traveling south to take on Houston on June 20.

“It’s going to be a tough week, it’s going to be a full week of tactical stuff, mixed in with some hard work,” Dunfield said. “We’ve got two tough games coming up, and I can’t wait to get started.”

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Mariner said he enjoyed the training session, and was especially thankful to have an intact squad as his disposal.

“The players responded unbelievably,” he said. “I think what’s fortunate is that the boys are refreshed [thanks to] the medical staff and the physical trainers and did sort of a mini-preseason with some ball work.”

For his part, Frings hopes the two victories can be the start of something better.

“[After] the wins we had against Vancouver and Philadelphia, I think we have a little more confidence now,” he said. “The break was good for us. Now everybody’s fresh. Paul is a great guy. He wants us to have fun at the pitch and you could see it today. I think it’s very important for us that we have fun.”

READ: Timing of Winter's dismissal catches TFC players off guard

Truth be told, there hasn’t been much that going around Toronto lately.

“Today was like a breath of fresh air,” Dunfield said.