After a 10-day break since their last game, Birmingham Legion are now set to play three times in the space of a week.

To kick it all off, they travel to Louisville City. The reigning Players’ Shield winners are currently top of the standings once again and on a run of 18 regular season games without a loss.

“I’m excited, I love playing there,” Phanuel Kavita said. “For me, it’s an exciting place. As a player, you always want to play against the best players, the best teams. And right now they’re the best team.

“They haven’t lost a game and they’re at home, and they typically do very well at home,” he added. “That’s the challenge right there. And I love to take those kind of challenges on.”

Kavita is recently returned from international duty, having made his national debut for Rwanda last week. After never featuring for his national team before, the 32-year-old centerback started both games as the African country faced Algeria in back-to-back friendlies.

“It was an honor, I loved it,” Kavita said. “It was something I’ve always looked forward to and always felt I could potentially get to that level and get to that point. Finally getting to play and seeing the level that is there and the quality that players have, it’s an honor to be there. It was exciting and it was fun, and a lot of learning as well.”

Kavita isn’t the only one to have only recently returned from across the Atlantic. 17-year-old Ramiz Hamouda was also on international duty, representing the USMNT U17s. The teenage centerback started all three games for the youth side as they faced off with Japan, Sweden and Canada in Spain.

In their absence, Tiago Suárez’ importance to the team has grown. The loanee got his start as a professional under Mark Briggs in Sacramento and has gone from strength to strength since the new coach’s arrival.

With four consecutive 90 minutes under his belt, the centerback was named a USL Championship Rising Star for the first three.

“It’s been a good opportunity, something I was waiting for a while,” Suárez said. “I was just making sure I was ready. Mark stepping in as the new head coach was a perfect thing for me because we’re familiar with one another and I know his system and I know how he likes to play.”

With both Kavita and Hamouda recently arrived, it remains to be seen if they will be ready in time for tomorrow’s game in Kentucky. But their return is sure to boost a backline struggling for numbers, with Dawson McCartney, Moses Mensah and AJ Paterson all unavailable.

However, Briggs does not believe defense is necessarily the problem.

The Englishman did not hide his disappointment following the team’s last game and believes everybody has a role to play in improving the team’s fortunes.

“You have to look in the mirror at some point,” Briggs said. “When you look at yourself in the mirror, do you look at yourself honestly or do you look at yourself in a way that’s not really gonna have an impact?

“My challenge to the group, for myself, for the staff, for anyone at the club is are you doing what’s right for yourself to get yourself in the best position to be able to perform for this club?” he added. “Are you bringing what the team needs? And if not, why?”

The team has notably struggled with slow starts, having trailed their opponent in every single league game this season.

Neither Briggs nor Kavita could pinpoint why that is, but both said the mentality needs to be better. Facing off against one of the best teams in the league, they cannot afford another subpar opening half.

Briggs said training has been good leading up to the game, though it will take time to truly change everything he wants to at the club. As players naturally revert to what they are used to, he said his job has been as much about teaching them new things as it has been about repeating those teachings.

“It’s just hammering home certain trends that hurt the group,” he said. “Because these trends appear daily, and for me it’s constantly repeating that that’s not acceptable. It’s constantly repeating and setting new standards. That’s gonna take time.”

For Briggs, Saturday’s game will have added intrigue. In addition to preparing his team to face a tough opponent, he is preparing himself to take on a close friend of his.

Louisville City head coach Danny Cruz played under Briggs at Real Monarchs before becoming his assistant coach at the same club.

Since Cruz took over Louisville, Briggs faced his former player on three occasions, winning one and losing two. He stated that his former protégé has done an exceptional job and is one of the best young coaches in the country.

However, any affinity between the two — Cruz is godfather to Briggs’ son — will have to be paused for 90 minutes Saturday evening.

“It won’t change how we approach it,” Briggs said. “We’ll be friends before it and we’ll be friends after it. But in those 90 minutes, we’ll probably have a go at one another a couple of times, and we’ll compete.”

The throwbacks to Briggs’ career won’t stop Saturday either.

After facing his former player and assistant, the Englishman will take on his former club Wednesday. Legion host Sacramento Republic June 18 before closing out the stretch of games by welcoming Oakland Roots to Protective June 21.

“It’s great, the USL did wonders with that,” Briggs said sarcastically about the fixture congestion. “It’s just a week where we have to make sure the guys understands what we do tactically in each game, understand the expectations. And then in those days between games we get their bodies as recovered as physically possible.”

On paper, the Lousiville City matchup is the tougher of the three. However, Legion have ironically performed better against teams top of the table so far this season.

With an underwhelming season so far, Briggs admitted he is weary of low confidence from his side. A loss in Louisville could further a negative spiral.

After calling players out last week after the Indy Eleven game, he said managing that confidence is all about a player-by-player approach.

“They have to understand that I believe in them,” Briggs said. “I’m on their side, but I have to hold them to a standard. Now, there’s different ways to poke the bear to get to that standard.

“Some players I have to go in there and have individual conversations and make sure they’re okay and ask them what’s going on. Other players I have to go at. Some others like to be called out in the media.

“I think it’s just about having standards, holding those standards and then making people accountable to those standards,” he added. “You won’t be successful or you don’t change a culture or you don’t move to a higher level if you allow complacency to steep in.”

Birmingham Legion begin their three-game stretch on the road to Louisville. The game kicks off at 7 p.m. and will be streamed live on ESPN+.

The Three Sparks then return home for back-to-back games at Protective Stadium. They host Sacramento Republic at 7 p.m. June 18 and Oakland Roots at 7 p.m. June 21.

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Don’t forget to check out our in-depth profile on Mark Briggs, the Three Sparks’ new head coach.