Aron Winter got burned last season because he didn’t have a deep roster.

After season-ending injuries to key defenders Adrian Cann and Dicoy Williams, the Toronto FC head coach scrambled to replace them. He never did and the Reds conceded a Major League Soccer-high 59 goals, slumped to a 6-13-15 record and missed the playoffs for a fifth straight year.

So, as Winter prepares for his sophomore season with the club, his focus has been on building depth in the ranks, especially on the backline. With a week gone in training camp, 13 of the 41 players on hand are defenders.

“I want in every position at least two good players,” Winter said Tuesday after training. “And, until now we are very satisfied about it.”

The latest additions — all defenders — have been made in the past week. Englishman Richard Eckersley, one of the club’s top defenders last season while on loan from Burnley FC, signed permanently as did Ecuadorian international Geovanny Caicedo and Chilean international Miguel Aceval.

All three could start when the Reds open the 2012 season on March 7, with the first leg of a CONCACAF Champions League quarter-final at the Rogers Centre against the L.A. Galaxy. Eckersley would play at right fullback while Caicedo would line up next to him in central defence with Aceval on the left side of the middle and TFC Academy graduate Ashtone Morgan at left fullback.

But there are other options. As he battles back from his knee surgery, Cann is closer to being fit than Williams. Four-year MLS veteran Jeremy Hall is here, as are 2011 regulars Ty Harden and Doneil Henry.

SuperDraft pick Aaron Maund from the University of Notre Dame, supplemental draft selections Mykell Bates and Nick Blake and TFC Academy defenders Brandon John and Tyler Pasher are also in camp.

“It’s good to have that depth in a squad,” said Eckersley, a 22-year-old who appeared in 23 games last year, 22 of them starts. “In a full MLS season there’s going to be injuries, plus at the start it’s going to push every player on because you’re going to challenge for positions. Everyone wants to start.

“You have to raise your game, so I think it’s good.”

Depth among defenders will also free up captain Torsten Frings to return to his more natural position in midfield. The former German international was forced to play in a sweeper role in the back late last season.

Cann, who said he’s having no trouble running or challenging on tackles, said he’s working on get strength back in his right leg for long-range passes.

“I know that I should be good to go in no time,” said the 31-year-old.

Cann, the team MVP in 2010, said while it’s nice to have a surplus of talent in training camp, it also makes him anxious to get back into match fitness.

“My passion’s playing,” he said. “I want to compete and win my position over. I don’t think anyone should take their job for granted.”

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Aceval, a 29-year-old who has played his entire career in South America, said he’s been told MLS is a fast and strong league. But the 6-foot, 210-pounder said his big match experience and versatility on the left side to play central defence, fullback or as a holding midfielder will serve him well here.

“I’m very comfortable with the ball at my feet,” he said through a translator.