Title chase still open
Kenya Premier League 2020/21 table toppers Tusker FC have declared that they have no choice but burn the midnight oil if they are to win the coveted title.
Tusker coach Robert Matano said in as much as he would wish his charges to stand up and be counted amongst the potential title contenders, he has warned them not to be carried away by the team’s top placing in the league chart.
“The league has been halted by coronavirus and we are currently leading but that does not mean we rest on our laurels since there are many matches remaining before the completion of the season.
We need to keep on working hard to realise our dream since other teams are also thirsting for the title as well,’’ said Matano.
He added: “Our closest challengers are also coming up very well and we have to maintain our momentum if we are to be home and dry in as far as winning the title is concerned. In other words we’ll cross the bridge when we get there.”
Whilst Tusker, who last won the top tier league in 2016, are on the driving seat of the season with 36 points from 16 matches, KCB are six points adrift in the second position followed by AFC Leopards (29), Kariobangi Sharks (28) and Bandari (27) with pundits tipping either of these teams to clinch the gong.
In the meantime, Matano said it is too premature to plan for the season giving the uncertainty of when the league shall resume following the directive by the government to halt all social gatherings following the third wave of the virus.
“To me it is still early to make such plans but obviously, there are several bench marks which we set and hope to attain by the time the league ends,” he said.
Tusker FC players are among those who received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccination at Kasarani almost a fortnight ago.
All players, technical bench members and staff were injected with the vaccine in the first important step to resumption of football.
Led by club chairman Daniel Aduda, the players got the ball rolling in the fight against the pandemic.
“I decided to lead from the front to have Tusker FC players vaccinated and I am impressed with the process.
It is seamless and I think this is the right way to go because we need the players healthy when we resume the league,” Aduda stated.
Coach Matano was equally elated, hoping that the vaccination of the players will open a door for the resumption of sports.
“We are happy that we have been vaccinated and this is a sign that football will return. We are just waiting for the government to give us a go ahead and we resume plating.
Al teams have been affected but when we resume the difference will come in with how people looked after themselves during the break,” he said.
He added : “We have asked our players to continue training on their own but we hope now that we have been vaccinated, we can start training as a team.”
