In his third season with his beloved New England Revolution, highly-talented centre-back Michael Parkhurst is getting set for his third straight MLS Cup final on Sunday against Houston Dynamo.

In a re-match of last year's pulsating final, Parkhurst is hoping that the Revolution's first bit of silverware as a club (the 2007 US Open Cup), an attacking mindset and the goals of ace Taylor Twellman will be enough to bring the 'double' and a first-ever MLS crown for the Boston-based side in their fourth attempt.

FIFA.com: Is it true that you were in the stands for the first-ever Revolution game back in 1996?
Michael Parkhurst: Yeah, I was 12-years old, and I was a Revs fan for life after that. I had no idea what club I would be going to when I was drafted after college and I couldn't have been more thrilled when they called out my name followed by New England Revolution. It was perfect.

It must feel good to be heading into a third championship match in your third season with the team you supported as a lad?
It's been amazing. I am so proud and honoured to be a part of this team. The coaching staff (Stevie Nicol and Paul Mariner) is one of a kind. Nicol and his assistants are real players' coaches and they have created a great atmosphere in the locker room. And that, combined with tons of talent on the field, has left us where we are now. I think this could be our year.

Having lost a big player like Clint Dempsey to Fulham in the close season, some thought the Revs would struggle a bit this year. What is the secret to keeping the form going despite the loss of a major player?
Losing a player like Clint would be a huge loss for any team, I mean he's a great player and he's proving it over in England right now. But we knew we had a lot of midfielders who could step up after he left. It was just a matter of guys taking responsibility. We are a close unit and we're always playing for the guy right next to us.

How important is the 2007 US Open Cup title for confidence heading into this big game?
It's huge knowing we can go to a final and get a victory, something we've never done before. Hopefully that knowledge can get us over the edge this time. Our form in the playoffs (against New York and Chicago) has been incredible. We've had the right mentality and tightened our defence after a bad run at the end of the regular season. We are getting clean sheets and our defence is strong just now.

Speaking of defence, the Revs always play with a three-man rearguard. Why is this?
We play with three at the back because we, as a team, are devoted to getting forward and attacking whenever we can. We have too many great midfielders to leave any of them on the bench.

At the other end, club top scorer Taylor Twellman is scoring incredible goals seemingly at will. How important is he to the team's success?
Extremely important, he's the only one scoring at the moment! He had the winning goals in the play-offs against New York and Chicago. He's one of the best scorers in the league and there's no doubt about that and we really count on him. On Sunday we're going to need some other guys to step up and get some goals too. We've had our chances in the last two games and I think we could be ready to explode in the final.

This is a repeat of the big final from last year that is defined by the surrender of a late, late goal to force penalties after a win looked assured. What lessons will you take from that loss?
That was the most heartbreaking game ever for me and for a lot of the guys in the team. It was just a crushing moment. All we had to do was hold the lead for seven minutes, but we lost it in less than 45 seconds and all of us will be desperate to make sure that doesn't happen again.

Along those lines, how much of a factor do nerves play in a one-off cup final with the trophy sitting in full view on a little podium on the touchline?
Knowing everything is on the line can be pretty tough. One mistake can cost you the title, and it tends to make for cautious games. But we need to play our game and our game is about attacking. Last year we created a few chances and hopefully this year we can attack even more. We're less nervous this time around.