“You can motivate players better with kind words than you can with a whip.” – Bud Wilkinson, Famous College Football Coach.
In my opinion, the do-or-die nature of the DSTV Super Cup will help focus Gor Mahia minds this weekend, and as quoted above, some kind words would go a long way in helping the team pick itself up from last weekend’s disappointment.
The barren draw against visiting Seychelles side Anse Re-Union in the CAF confederations cup indeed didn’t go down well with the majority but we must quickly shift gear and look at the task ahead, which to me will be a good test to judge our strengths and weaknesses in good time.
First on list is the new season curtain raiser clash against Tusker Fc in the DSTV Super cup next Saturday at the Nyayo National Stadium. The reigning TPL League champions are red hot on their heels, ice coating their good run in the pre-season tests with a 1-4 drubbing of Seychelles’ counterparts, St Michel in the CAF Champions league preliminary round away in Victoria.
This will be followed in a week’s time with the CAF confederations cup preliminary round second leg tie in Seychelles. Coach Zdravko Logarusic’s charges will have a point to prove to their hosts – that indeed they (Gor Mahia) rode on hard luck in the first encounter.
These two crunch encounters will then be followed with a clash against Sofapaka in K’ogalo’s first round league encounter for season 2013. This will be the two sides’ second clash in the New Year. Gor Mahia lost to Sofapaka on post match penalties in the inaugural Kenya Power Charity Cup, after a one-all score in regulation time.
These next three weeks will indeed be crunchy and a better test ahead of the season’s marathon. But then again it will still be too early to call, negative results would be detrimental but then again positive outcomes would bring forth another demand – consistency.
It’s too early to call and for the feint hearted, let’s compare notes in NOVEMBER!!