Kalisto Pasuwa spoke to the media ahead of FCB Nyasa Big Bullets’ TNM Super League tie against Ekwendeni Hammers at Kamuzu Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The head coach reviewed last week’s 1-0 defeat away to Chitipa United as he also discussed Nigerian striker Chinedu Okafor’s lack of game time.
Pasuwa told journalists at Kamuzu Stadium that his charges’ title credentials will depend on how the team will react to last Saturday’s loss at Karonga Stadium.
It was the first defeat of the season for The People’s Team and the first against Chitipa United in their seven meetings.
“We played in Karonga and we lost. It’s how you react after any loss that one can be seen to be a champion, so we need to prepare everything for us to collect points on Saturday,” responded Pasuwa.
“I have been talking about complacency in our camp where we need everyone to be on top of his game for us to retain the championship. As you can see, it’s going to be very tough this year,” added the Zimbabwean who is hunting his fifth successive TNM Super League title with Bullets.
Pasuwa was once again very quick to warn his charges against underrating Ekwendeni Hammers, saying Chitipa United’s defeat should serve as a lesson that every opponent deserves respect.
“I am one person who will always advise my boys not to underrate any team in Malawi. Every team that we meet will give us a tough time. There is no game that we can say this one is easy.
“[We have been] talking during training sessions [that] a team will come and collect points if we are complacent in our camp. Remember all of us are eleven in the field of play, so if we are equal, it means a result can go either way.”
He was also quizzed about why striker Chinedu Okafor is not getting enough game time since his arrival in March.
“He is one of the players who is trying his best. As you know, we are having so many strikers in the house. Remember we signed him as [we thought he would be] a replacement for Hassan Kajoke [who was yet to commit his stay with his contract coming to an end then].
[Kajoke] is someone who knows the system of the team. If you can see the front three, we have been changing it as [we continue] trying different combinations so that we can get goals.”
With eight games already played this term, Pasuwa was also asked to comment on Silver Strikers Pieter De Jhong’s prediction that the 2023 TNM Super League is now a three-horse race between his side, Bullets and Mighty Mukuru Wanderers.
He replied: “That’s how he [De Jhong] thinks. He has been here for three to four months, and he is yet to know Malawian football for him to say it that way. If it was me, I would be comfortable talking about that, but him? Who came just three months ago?
“You have seen how Chitipa United played. If they can continue performing as they did against us, they can be one of the contenders in the league.”
Bullets are second on the table with 17 points from eight games, a point behind the Central Bankers, who have 18 points from the same number of games.
