Mathare United coach Francis Kimanzi says that his primary ambition this year is to rebuild his team even as he looks for a new sparkle for the season after losing several key players.
Talking to kpl.co.ke, Kimanzi conceded that the departure of some key players last season may have upset the squad balance, and that he planned to stabilize the team first before crafting big targets for the season.
The accomplished coach though, wants to improve on his seventh placed finish last season and be more aggressive in the GOtv Shield and KPL Top Eight knockout tournaments.
“We have not signed a Messi, or Neymar, or any player of their caliber, so we are not harbouring any lofty ambitions. Mine is to help rebuild the team because we lost quite a number of players and we have welcomed a few others. Mathare is a club that nurtures young talent.
“Winning the league trophy is not easy. We tried that last season and started very well, but certain factors including lack of depth could not allow us to sustain our bid for the title. I think, however, that we achieved by finishing in a good position and gaining legibility to the KPL Top 8 tournament for the first time in a while.
“This year I just want to maintain that run, push for a position within the best eight teams in the league and then see how to build up on that in 2018,” he said.
Mathare lost nine key players in the preseaon transfer window including award winning midfielder Eric Johanna, lanky defender Robinson Kamura, Obadiah Ndege and Eric Mata.
The former Harambee Stars coach said he was looking forward to creating “new excitement” with the new signings when the 2017 season kicks off.
