FCB Nyasa Big Bullets head coach Kalisto Pasuwa addressed the media ahead of Tuesday afternoon’s Castel Challenge Cup semifinal clash against Mzuzu City Hammers at Kamuzu Stadium.
He discussed several issues, including our preparations for the showdown, team news and his thoughts on the opposition.
Below is the full transcript of Pasuwa’s media briefing.
On preparations
We are a team that has been travelling [a lot] and having games in a space of three days and one thing worrying me is injuries in the camp, and also playing games without training because we are trying to manage the players as you know after a game today, we recover and then the next day, we try to talk to the players on how tactically we are going to approach the game. Football being football, we quickly need to come back to our senses and have a team that will give us results.
On facing the Hammers in the semis
We are playing against a very good side. They are coming here in Blantyre. It’s a team that has been playing very well, and we cannot underestimate them. We respect them because they play with a structure. We also need to be very positive in what we do. As you know, this is a game that needs one result, and that’s what we will be hoping for when we face them tomorrow.
On playing without a natural left-back
That’s a situation that we have been in since last year towards the end of the season. When we have a player, we need to quickly attend to him so that he comes back to action. We have been losing players on our left side. We started with Chrispin Mapemba, who got injured during the Airtel Top 8 Cup final. I have been talking to the doctors to find out his recovery progress, and we need to attend to him so that he recovers [as soon as possible].
On injuries and suspensions
The last time we played [against MMF Marines in the quarterfinals on Saturday], we lost Alick Lungu to an injury, Frank Willard to a red card, and some players to knocks. As you know, we were playing in the mud due to the rains that made the pitch very heavy, and we loaded the boys, but we had no time for recovery. [Alick] has a swollen ankle on his left leg, but I think the doctors are still assessing him, and we will see how it goes. He is definitely out for tomorrow’s game.
On his team’s chances of playing the final
Well, we can’t talk about playing in the final before playing in the semis. To play in the final, you need to have the right sense of mind. Remember, we have been playing lower division teams where people thought the games were easy, but we struggled and had to push ourselves to go through. So, everyone in the house, not only players or coaches, even the supporters, we need them to bring the much-needed support so that they push us to go to the final..
On what he is expecting from his players
The first problem is the mentality part of it, seconded by tiredness. This team is too tired, and at times, I feel pity for them. If you see, we have played four games [in a short period], and if you check the distance that we have covered, it’s more than what we are supposed to cover [in that period], and the recovery part of it is also hectic for us as coaches. We have been trying to manage the recovery part of it so that they can play with fresh legs, but we don’t have time and if you see the way we are playing, after two days, we are told to play games and we are playing on bumpy and muddy pitches, which is also a big problem. But that’s it, we can’t do anything about it apart from doing what we are already doing to manage the players so that they last the season.
