Bullets Media on Thursday afternoon caught up with head coach Kalisto Pasuwa to share his thoughts and give an update on his squad ahead of Saturday’s TNM Super League clash against Moyale Barracks at Kamuzu Stadium.
He discussed the team preparations, playing during the rains, injuries, dealing with pressure, the opponents and the importance of the match against another military side.
Read Pasuwa’s latest pre-match update.
On team’s preparations ahead of the match:
“We have been training the whole week and the boys are looking sharp. We have been reminding each other about the importance of working out on our weaknesses and we think we have corrected before facing them [Moyale Barracks].”
On playing in the rains:
“Last time when we played, we looked good in the first 15 minutes and when the rains started, we couldn’t adjust to suit the weather and we struggled and that’s one area where we have been working on, because we cannot run away from the rains since we are in the rainy season, hence the need for us to adjust very quickly whenever we are playing on such tough pitch conditions.”
Giving an update on injuries:
“We have Ben Manyozo who has a fracture and he is in a plaster. We also have Peter Banda who is also nursing an injury. All the boys [that were available for our previous games] besides the two are available for selection [this weekend].”
On facing Moyale Barracks, a team that Bullets struggled against last season, winning 1-0:
“Moyale Barracks is good team, very physical as well. Last time we met, we won 1-0 in a match where we created several goal scoring opportunities but we couldn’t capitalize as we ended up missing them, but I hope this time around we have worked on the mistakes we did last season. We have been working on the technique part of training, targeting goals.
“We have to get going, we must emphasize on making Kamuzu Stadium a fortress place for any visiting team by collecting points. When playing against Bullets any team comes very hard just to prove a point. Wearing the Bullets jersey doesn’t mean we can be winning easily, we need to fight hard in order to get the points.”
On the importance of the match:
“[It’s] a very crucial match for us. We talked to the boys to play without pressure. It’s very unusual for us to play two games at home without getting maximum points, but we started very slowly, something which happens in a game of football. It’s a race and the most important thing is to start winning.”
