Nigeria’s most successful club, Enyimba International will face Sudanese club, Al-Merrikh in the second leg of their first leg CAF Champions League tie in Aba on Wednesday.
The Sudanese won the first leg 3-0 loss in Sudan in the first leg and Enyimba will face an uphill task turning things around and making further progress in the competition.
Head coach Enyimba, Fatai Osho says his charges will approach Wednesday’s game without any fear.
“The result in Sudan was not the best for us,” Osho told SPNAfricaNews. “In terms of performance, they (Al-Merrikh) did very well, although there were a lot of errors that caused those goals.
“So we are looking at where they got it wrong and where they did well. We’ll also pick courage from there seeing that this is the same team we played and we were able to dominate to some extent so it shows they are not invincible”.
Osho also believes that the work done behind the scenes and the performance in the previous league game will be able to propel Enyimba to victory in an important tie against Al Merikkh.
“Coming back, we’ve been talking to the players to make sure they are psychologically ready for the battle on Wednesday and we were able to see a little bit of response when we played against Abia Warriors.
“Also what we’ve seen in the training sessions is quite encouraging, you can see a group of players that believe they have to do something good for the team and for the image of the country.”
When asked about the confidence level of the team and what gives him the confidence that Enyimba can get the required result, the gaffer insisted that the players have been preparing themselves in the right manner and are ready to give their all.
“The mindset of these players, the attitude,” he said. “They’re training, talking to themselves and talking to us through their performance in training sessions.
“They don’t look like people who are going in on that day to drop the ticket for Al Merikkh. You can see them fighting and as players they’re telling us they believe that they can turn the tables against the Sudanese and that’s quite encouraging. I think it’s a good thing for the team and it makes our job a bit easier.”
“We are looking at the areas that we have to tidy up, we’re looking at those areas that the Sudanese are vulnerable.
“We are looking at the tapes and other tapes that will also be of assistance to us and these things were explained to the players,” he added. “The tactical instructions are being carried out very well in a way that the result will come.”
