Head coach Wedson Nyirenda returned to face the media on Thursday after a five-week midseason break, discussing preparations for Sunday’s top-of-the-table clash with Blue Eagles, team news and expectations for the second round.
With The People’s Team returning to competitive action after a five-week midseason break, Nyirenda reflected on preparations for Sunday’s meeting with Blue Eagles and the challenge of building on the emphatic 5-0 victory over Silver Strikers.
He also discussed the progress of new arrivals, returning internationals, defensive discipline and the challenge posed by the league leaders, who sit one point above second-placed Bullets.
Below is the full pre-match press conference.
Coach, how did you manage the five-week break, and how satisfied are you with the team’s preparations?
First of all, I must say that we finished the first round on a good note. The break was a long one and, like I said, when it goes beyond three weeks, it becomes almost like an off-season. So, this has been an off-season within the season.
It is not easy to manage because players need some rest, but we also need them to come back ready for the second round. The second round is not something that is going to be easy because that is where we start to see the difference between boys and men. Every team wants to achieve something towards the end of the season. There are teams fighting relegation, teams in mid-table and those fighting to win the championship.
I think we planned our programme very well during this midseason period. We gave the players only one week of rest before they came back and started preparing. We also planned three test matches, which gave players who did not have much game time in the first round an opportunity to showcase their talent, and we saw a lot during this period.
It also gave us time to look at the new players we have acquired. Alihaji Mnjale, Tinaye Tsimba and Sheku Sheriff played in those games and showed us that they can fit into the team very well.
Could such a lengthy break affect the team’s momentum going into the second round?
Not really. I would have said there could be a negative impact if we had injuries that disturbed us, but as it stands, we do not have that. We have not had many problems that could keep our players out of training.
Everyone was available apart from those who went on international duty with the Under-20, Under-23 and senior national teams. But that is also an advantage because, at that level, they are gaining more experience.
They have now come back and I think today we had a full house. We have seen everyone back and nobody has returned with an injury, apart from Madalitso Safuli, who came back from the Under-20 last week with an ankle problem. He started training very well yesterday and he is now in full swing.
How do you build on the 5-0 victory over Silver Strikers after five weeks without competitive football?
That is a very big challenge for any coach when you come from getting a result that was so pleasing to everyone. We scored more goals than in any other game this season and, to crown it all, it was not a small team that we beat. We beat contenders. They were above us at the time, just as the team we are playing now is above us.
There is always one big thing that you have to manage as a coach, and that is complacency. We came from that good victory and now we are going into another game after five weeks. I would have loved this game to have come immediately after that win, but this is how it is.
We have been working on that, and every player knows how important this game is for us.
What did the midseason friendlies reveal about your squad depth, and how close are the new signings to competitive minutes?
First of all, I think every player will be given a chance to be part of this team because they belong here. I love to make every player have that sense of belonging. That is the first thing I give to my players.
I am always preaching to them that, even if you do not have game time today, you must know that by virtue of being on the Bullets list, you are a very important part of this team. You are going to have your time and, when that time comes, grab it with both hands and show people that you are capable and that you are truly FCB Nyasa Big Bullets material.
I think the players we have now deserve to be at this club. Giving them time to play in these midseason games has shown us that we can depend on them. They can play and they can fit in.
When it comes to game time for the new players, they have to continue proving themselves. It is one thing to show that they fit into the system and another to find themselves in the squad for a particular game, depending on the team we are playing.
We have the data on Blue Eagles and we know how they play, so we have to choose the players who will fit what we want for that particular game. The new players have shown that they can be part of this team. Now it is up to them to fight for a place in the starting line-up or in the squad.
Blue Eagles are a physical side. How do you plan to counter that, and what result are you targeting on Sunday?
I think Bullets play total football. We can play from the back, consolidate through midfield and then move into the penetration zone before getting into the finalisation zone. That is our game.
If they are a physical team, we still have our intensity to work for us. We are a team that can run and we do not collapse easily, so we have devised ways of breaking that down.
On the result, we are winning this one. We are winning.
This is the game that is going to put us in the number one position, and every player and every official knows about this. We are not leaving any stone unturned this week. We are putting everything into it. We cannot miss this chance.
How have the players returning from international duty settled back into the squad?
If you saw the hunger that was in training this morning from those guys, and if you saw the discipline, it was encouraging. The senior national team arrived very late after a gruelling journey.
These guys slept for very few hours and still had to make it to training. Mpokera and Kondowe even called to say, ‘We are on our way. We are a little late, but we are coming. We just overslept.’
That alone tells you something about the players that I have. They are committed, they are disciplined and they know what they want.
They came into training this morning and what they showed us was good leadership. I cannot take that lightly from any player. When a player shows that he has the heart for the team, that is what you want from them.
Bullets conceded just seven goals in the first round and kept four successive league clean sheets. How important is maintaining that defensive record?
It is important because championship teams defend well. If you do not defend, you are dead.
We have worked to make our defensive system one of the best because the exercises and training we are giving the players are very detailed. There are individual tactics and collective tactics as a defensive department, and we are not defending as separate segments. We are defending as a block.
That is what has helped us keep more clean sheets. What we are fighting for now is to score more goals than the other teams.
Blue Eagles will be without three suspended players. Does that change how you approach Sunday’s game?
First of all, you have to ask yourself: why is this team above us? Then you must know that they have a good squad.
You cannot play all these games with the same team. There have been matches when some of those players have not been there and somebody else has played. For them to be consistent and to stay near the top — they have been number one, two or three — tells you that this is a team with a good squad.
So, we cannot count on those three players being absent. We forget about them. All we know is that we are meeting a team that is above us. That is what we are preaching to the players.
Bullets have struggled for victories against Blue Eagles in recent meetings. How do you change that record?
When did we last score five? It had been years. It had been a long time. So, I always say every day is a new day and every game is a new game.
We are going to meet a Police team that is progressing well. Our responsibility is to change the narrative. Forget about what has happened behind us and look at this as a new game.
Whatever we put into this game is what we want to get out of it.
Finally, what is your message to the supporters ahead of Sunday’s game?
We know what is coming from our landlords. We call them landlords because they are the owners of the team.
We gave them something to be happy about throughout this break after that memorable win. I think we sent a statement that their team is back.
What we expect now is a full house at Mpira Stadium. How I wish it was Kamuzu Stadium because I feel Mpira might even be too small for this game.
We played our best game and everyone went home talking about it, telling others, ‘If you did not watch today, you missed.’ Now we are playing a team that is one point above us. That alone is exciting everyone.
We do not intend to make our supporters and fans miserable on the day. We are going there to give them something very good.
We ask everyone to come in numbers and give us the support they have been giving us. We are very grateful to them and we are going to do our best.
