Bayelsa United coach, Ladan Bosso has described as not a-must-win the annual Super Four tournament due to kick off on January 24 in Abuja.
The football showpiece is meant for the nation’s flag bearers on the continent namely Kano Pillars, Enyimba, Bayelsa United and Warri Wolves.
Kano Pillars and Enyimba will campaign in the Caf Champions League while the duo of Bayelsa United and Warri Wolves will challenge in the Caf Confederation Cup.
Bosso said the tournament is not a must win but an opportunity for his team to demonstrate their preparedness to represent the country proudly at the African cadre.
“The Super Four tournament is a demonstration good intention by the League Management Company (LMC) to keep in perfect shape the continental teams.
“Bayelsa United won’t see the tournament as a-must-win but as an occasion to showcase their ability to represent Nigeria well on the continent.
“We’ll at the weekend head to Kaduna to participate in the pre-season football competition involving the likes of Kaduna United, Enyimba, Rangers, Gombe United, Nasarawa United, among others.
“The pre-season event will be good for us and will put us in good shape and frame of mind for the Super Four as we intend to head straight to Abuja from Kaduna for the clash.
“We sacrificed our New Year holidays in camp to continue our intense build-up for the new season,” said the former Kano Pillars coach to supersport.com.
Bosso however said the inability of the management to offset the players signing-on fees for the immediate past season is a major hitch on their programmes.
“The biggest headache we have at the moment is the low morale among the players over their unpaid last season signing-on fees.
“Majority of the players are downcast while the newly recruited ones are not too sure of their fate.
“The pitch of the Samson Siasia Stadium is in a terrible state and another cause for worry as it is most likely that both the Nigeria Football Federation and Caf won’t approve the pitch for our continental assignment.
“The option available is for us to play our matches at an alternate pitch which will deny the side strong support of their fans as well as deny them the opportunity of watching their side play before them.
“We’re hopeful that government will hasten action to ensure the pitch is put right and the morale of the players restored before we start our campaign both at home and continent,” said the former Wikki Tourists coach.
The Yenagoa-based side finished the 2012/13 Glo Premier League season as third best on 61 points, two points behind champions, Kano Pillars.
No comments:
Post a Comment