On the heels of Ottawa Fury FC's second league loss and fourth defeat in a row, the atmosphere at training Tuesday was surprisingly upbeat.

Maybe it was the blast of warm, sunny weather that had everyone on the pitch in a good mood, or maybe it was the prospect of having a full week of training for a change after a stretch of five games in two weeks.

Is that a good thing? Shouldn't a team in the midst of losing streak, one that is struggling to score and seeing its main offensive weapons dropping like flies, be at least a little pissed off?

The truth is, they are. Coach Marc Dos Santos has said as much. Nobody likes losing and scorers don't like not scoring and on the training pitch Tuesday there was a definite edge to the players. They were a bit more vocal, a bit more likely to exchange a few words with a teammate if they weren't happy with how a drill was going. After a defensive miss during one drill, goalkeeper Romuald Peiser yelled something that can't be repeated here. That's what you hope to see from players when things aren't going right.

But when practice ended, the players were all smiles, lingering for 15 minutes to take turns trying to spin a shot into the net from various tough angles. That's perhaps the best example of what Dos Santos means when the coach talks about loving the mentality of his players, that they can channel any frustration and anger into training and hopefully fix what's ailing them.

"The mentality and the battle attitude of these guys is very good," Dos Santos told the Sun on Tuesday. "Our locker room is very unified and I believe a lot in the group I have."

But it's not like that mindset never wavers. In Saturday's 1-0 loss to the first-place Cosmos in New York, Dos Santos said "the first 20 minutes, we were very afraid of losing."

Fury settled down after that and played a solid defensive game and had a couple chances to score, but the damage had been done. A positive attitude will only get a team so far, right?

That attitude will be tested again as Fury prepares to host the Tampa Bay Rowdies on Saturday at TD Place as they will be without a few key offensive weapons. Dos Santos confirmed that striker Tommy Heinemann has been ruled out for Saturday with a leg injury. Defender Mike Randolph, forward Paulo Jr. and midfielder/forward Oliver are all "doubtful," said the coach.

"We need everybody healthy, that's the reality, that's what we're struggling with at the moment," he said.

Only once this season has Fury had its entire roster -- minus Phil Davies, who broke his arm in the pre-season -- available for a game, which just happened to be a 1-0 win against Minnesota United FC.

Though the injury picture is ugly heading towards Saturday's match, Dos Santos remains upbeat, especially now that he has a full week of training to prepare after playing Saturday-Wednesday-Saturday-Wednesday-Saturday, which included flights to and from Edmonton and New York.

"Everything was done by video and PowerPoint and very passive training where we just walked through things," Dos Santos said of the last two weeks.

Despite sitting ninth on the 11-team NASL table, Fury is just four points behind second-place Tampa, so picking up three home points Saturday would be huge.

"We're guys that battle a lot and we have to be strong," said Dos Santos.

POLTRONIERI EARNING HIS MINUTES

Brandon Poltronieri is settling nicely into both life in Ottawa and life on the left side of Fury FC's back line.

After signing with Fury as a versatile depth player in the off-season, an impressive debut off the bench and injury to left back Mike Randolph has allowed the 29-year-old Costa Rican to take hold of the position.

Poltronieri scored on his first touch in Fury colours in a losing cause to open the season and has since started all but one game, which he missed due to injury.

"We (players) train hard to be ready," Poltronieri said Tuesday. "There's going to be injuries, suspensions, so all the players need to be focused because you can (play) at at anytime."

A key to his success has been his ability to play up and down the pitch, wherever he's needed in a given game.

"When I was playing in Costa Rica, I had opportunities because the coaches knew I can play different spots. "Someone needs a winger, (get) Brandon, need someone in the middle, it's Brandon, but never goalie.

"I'll always be ready and play hard, that's my Costa Rican style."

Twitter: @chrishofley