Kalisto Pasuwa faced the media on Thursday in his weekly interview ahead of our trip to the Central Region for this weekend’s TNM Super League encounters against Blue Eagles and TN Stars.
Nyasa Big Bullets will face Blue Eagles at Nankhaka Stadium on Saturday in the opening game of the second-round before meeting TN Stars at Kasungu Stadium on Sunday.
The head coach discussed a range of subjects including Bullets’ poor run of form in Lilongwe this season, playing two games within 24-hours and an update on goalkeeper Ernest Kakhobwe, among others.
Travelling to the Central Region for two away games, how are you looking forward to these games considering that previously you have said it’s normally very difficult to play two games within 24 hours?
“Very difficult indeed, but again that’s the fixture and we have been trying to do with what is there hence the reason why we were making a balance in the team so that we can work on the energy levels of the team. We don’t want a situation where most of the guys will end up playing like 180 minutes without even recovering, so we need to manage them as you know that we have so many games that are coming [in the second round], including Cup games. So, you can see it’s a tall order on us in terms of how we are loading the players and managing injuries, but we will do our best in order to come up with wins in those two games.”
It has been very difficult for Bullets to get results in Lilongwe. You drew 0-0 with MAFCO FC before losing to Silver Strikers in your last away game, are there any lessons you have learnt as to may be what you need to change when you play games in the Capital City?
“I think we have been pushing the boys to do well in Lilongwe because it’s in their minds that whenever we play in Lilongwe we end up losing games, but again remember last year we won the last two games that won us the championship in Lilongwe. Games can be very difficult, but again we need to quickly adjust. If you want to be a champion, you can win anywhere even when you play in the mud, water logged pitches etc., but what we need to do is to change the approach on how we take on these games in Lilongwe, the same way we have been playing here should be the same way we should be playing whenever we are playing in these cities. It’s something we have been working on in order for us to come back with good results when playing in Lilongwe.”
Tell us about the young players you brought in the squad, how are they fairing?
“The young boys are doing very well, but again if you can see, I have been trying to manage them and one day I will give them a run and the other day I will hide them as you know nurturing these youngsters is a process. You can’t just throw them on the big stage, in the same way again, if they go straight without having some of the lessons here, I will end up dropping them, so we need to be working on them mentally and a whole lot of aspects, that’s why most of the times whenever we are playing, we try to leave them on the bench and even dropping them so that may be they shouldn’t be under pressure especially when we lose so that they are not affected, hence the reason why I am trying to manage them with extra caution.”
First choice goalkeeper Ernest Kakhobwe, what’s the situation now?
“Kakhobwe is still in the hands of the doctors and as of now, I have to hear from the medical team on how he is. He has been [doing light] training, but I was told he was booked for an MRI scan since he was complaining about a knock on his knee and the doctors will have a final say. The day they will certify him fit, he is free to play any time.”
