Khano Smith has backed New England Revolution to end their five game losing streak when they face his former club New York Red Bulls in the US Open Cup tonight.

The Bermuda international insists there are "no excuses" for the Revolution's poor run of form but pointed out they are missing a number of influential players, including midfield talisman Shalrie Joseph.

"We can't make excuses, but we're missing our four highest-paid players,'' Smith told the Boston Globe after a 3-2 loss at Columbus last weekend. "Take those players out of any team (and) it is going to struggle.

"We'll be all right when we get everybody back. We've just got to keep ourselves in it in this tough stretch.

"We'll be okay. We've got a good squad. Teams we had in the past, we probably had a better starting eleven, but we definitely have a better squad now."

More than two-thirds of the Revolution's salary is spent on goalkeeper Matt Reis and striker Taylor Twellman, who have yet to play; forward Edgaras Jankauskas, who has yet to start; and Joseph, who has played in only one match this term.

Despite playing out of position as a makeshift left back against the Crew, Smith received praise for his defensive performance in the US media and is likely to retain his place in the starting line-up against Red Bulls where he made eight appearances last season.

The 29-year-old, who rejoined Revolution at the start of the season following a short spell at English League Two side Lincoln, said he was impressed with rookie forward Zak Boggs who bagged a brace against the Crew.

"Boggs is a rookie, he's played what, 30 minutes the whole season? And he comes in and does that," he said.

During his first stint at Revolution, between 2005 and 2008, Smith played in two successive MLS Cup finals, losing to Houston Dynamo on both occasions.

Revolution take on Red Bulls tonight at the Red Bull Arena at 8 p.m. (Eastern time).

n In a recent article about Bermuda goalkeeper Freddy Hall, quotes should have been attributed to Quad News (www.quadnews.net).