Head coach Kalisto Pasuwa on Thursday talked to club media ahead of Nyasa Big Bullets’ home game against TN Stars in the TNM Super League on Sunday.
Fresh from the 2-0 win away to Chitipa United in the FDH Bank Cup quarterfinal match, the tactician emphasized the need for his men to return to winning ways at home after failing to bag full points in two games since the start of the second round.
He also spoke about how the absence of several players due to national team engagements affected the preparations of the team after The People’s Team contributed six members to the Malawi squad for the CHAN back-to-back games against Mozambique.
Below is the transcript of what Pasuwa said ahead of the match:
On preparations…
“Preparations have been going on very well but remember we are having some of our players with the national team. As you know, last time we played at home, we conceded a lot and we wanted to rectify this problem with every player on board, but then we have just been working with the boys who are around and we have tried to work on it.”
On his side’s failure to deal with set pieces…
“We have tried to work on it. It’s true, we haven’t done well on set pieces and we needed to train more on this. We also needed to work on the mental aspect of it as you know whenever we are leading, we fail to maintain the lead and when teams come hard on us, we put our heads down, something which has everything to do with our mental strength. We have tried to work it out and we are hopeful that you will see some changes on Sunday when we play TN Stars.
On the need to start winning at home again…
“I have been talking to the boys that teams will come hard on us in the second round of the season. We have a team that is completely new, but again if you can see the other side of it gives you hope because when we play away from home, we are picking up points, but when it’s at Kamuzu Stadium we drop points. This is something that is in our minds that [when] we are playing at home [we will collect maximum points] which is not good at all because in football you can also lose at home. We have been addressing this problem and also talking much about the principles of playing, especially on defense and to see the basics of how we can fair. If you can see the goals that we have been conceding they look simple, but again it’s a problem which needs to be addressed before we play Simba SC in the Champions League.”
On Sunday’s match altogether…
“It’s us who are on a minus side. We haven’t been winning at home and we are carrying a load of things, which is why we need points at home at all cost. We also need to try to defend well especially on dead ball situations and the transition from the back to the offensive zone to avoid them from attacking us.”
On what he is expecting from TN Stars…
“Though they’re looking bad for them in terms of log position, [TN Stars] are a very good side that can give you problems. When we played them in Kasungu, they gave us problems in terms of pressing. They were very quick in attack and considering that they will play on a good surface against us, they will come hard on us by playing football which you normally see whenever they are playing elsewhere.”
