Preki.

BY RYAN JOHNSTON
sportsnet.ca

OAKVILLE -- A day after Toronto FC released one of its longest-tenured players it was back to business for first-year head coach Preki.

Carl Robinson, one of the first players to join the expansion Reds prior to its inaugural season in 2007, was a notable absentee at the Monday morning training session.

"Carl has been released and I believe he is training in New York, but that is where it stops with me," Preki said. "From the first day I came to Toronto it seemed that he was not settled and I was not going to stand in his way. My job was to accommodate and the people who do not really want to be here, we don’t want them here."

Robinson played 74 games in three seasons with Toronto, scoring three goals and adding seven assists. The native of Llandrudod Wells, Wales, was named team MVP in both 2007 and 2008.

While unconfirmed, the 33-year-old is presumed to be training with the Red Bulls in an attempt to make the MLS club ahead of the new season.

"It was a case of numbers (in the midfield) and a case of salary cap, but he had also already made up his mind and he was not coming back here," Preki said Monday. "The decision had to be made and we now have to move forward."

A player expected to fill the void left by the departure of Robinson is sophomore Sam Cronin. The 23-year-old product of Wake Forest University developed in a student/mentor role with Robinson in Cronin’s first season as a professional.

"He really opened the game up to me and allowed me to learn. He had advice for me everyday and he is going to be sorely missed," Cronin said of the news.

Cronin scored one goal and added four assists in 2009 while earning the trust of the coaching staff by starting in 26 of 27 games played.

With Robinson no longer in the picture, it is expected that Cronin will once again challenge for first-team spot.

"We’re still trying to figure out who fits where and everyone is still fighting for spots," Cronin explained. "We’ll see after this weekend in Charleston, which will be a good test as we get more games under our belts."

Toronto will train the remainder of the week in Oakville and at Lamport Stadium in Toronto before departing for the annual four-team Carolina Challenge Cup hosted by the Charleston Battery of the United Soccer Leagues Second Division (USL-2).

The tournament marks the unofficial opening of the season and will be treated as a chance for Preki to determine which players might make the starting 11 when ‘FirstKick’ weekend opens for MLS on March 25.

"(In Charleston) we are going to work with a group that we will be comfortable with to start the season. What that is going to look like, I can’t tell you, but we are going put a group on the field that hopefully come March 27 we will feel comfortable with," Preki said.

Unlike in previous years, Toronto FC’s head coach—the fourth in four years—is not about to make any predictions for where his club might finish in the standings in 2010.

"We are still far away from where I want us to be, but we are working every day. This is not going to be an overnight fix, it is going to be a process and we have to be patient," Preki explained. "Especially for out fans, who are very passionate for this club."

Toronto FC opens the Carolina Challenge Cup on Saturday against the host Battery. The Reds’ fourth MLS season begins on the road in Columbus on Saturday, March 27.

NOTES: Mo Johnston spoke briefly on former TFC player Maurice Edu scoring the winning goal for Glasgow Rangers against its city rival Celtic in the latest Old Firm derby: "I am happy for him, he needs to get his name back in the mix with South Africa coming up. But I also told him (after the goal) to ‘Stay inside.’" … Dwayne De Rosario missed the last portion of Monday’s training with what appeared to be an ankle injury suffered during training … Chad Barrett and Emmanuel Gomez did not participate in the drills or scrimmage on Monday … Preki on the injuries: "We have a couple of guys banged up, but that has been going on for a while."