No cause for alarm over CAFCC quarters clash against Pyramids, says Osho

Enyimba manager, Fatai Osho has said there is nothing to panic or worry over his side’s CAF Confederation Cup quarterfinals opponents, Pyramids FC of Egypt.

The continent’s football body, CAF at its headquarters in Cairo, Egypt on Friday at the draw ceremony paired together the Nigerian representatives, Enyimba and the Egyptian giants, Pyramids FC for the last eight clash of Africa’s second tier inter-club competition.

The nation’s flag-bearers topped Group A on nine points same as runners-up, Orlando Pirates while the Egyptian side came second on 12 points in Group D behind winners, Raja Casablanca.

Osho said his side already have their minds wrapped around the podium and damn ready to play any side aimed at achieving the lofty dream.

“It’s quite an interesting one as at the time the draw was to be made we knew quite well that we will only play either of the trio, Coton Sport, CS Sfaxien and Pyramids.

“We were quite aware of that, we expected one of them and now we have got Pyramids, nobody should be of the opinion that we have a weaker team that will be a complete ignorance because at this level of the competition we do not have a weak team at all.

“No matter how good you are in the group stage campaign a team must come first and another one will finish second to qualify.

“We know Pyramids have a lot of strength in them, they were in the final last season, they lost narrowly in the final and they will be looking at the possibility of winning it this time around.

“On our own part we have our dreams too, we know what the Cup means for the country as a whole we will fancy our own chance too.

“We have our own dream which is actually to win the trophy and it’s good we play Pyramids at this stage because if you want to win the competition you should be ready for anybody.

“The truth is you do not have a hand to select at all who you want to play and which will give you out as unserious.

“We have made up our minds that it could be anybody, now that the die is cast we will be working very hard to represent the country very well and bring honour to the nation,” said the former Remo Stars gaffer to SPNAfricaNews.

Osho promised a far improved performance on the road this time around than they did in the group stage of the competition.

“We did not perform well on the road while we were tidy at home during the group campaign. If you have ambition of winning this type of competition you must perform better on the road.

“We established this fact long time ago unfortunately a lot of factors played against us which many people were not aware of.

“Now some of these issues are being resolved, I’m happy a lot of the issues are being tackled by the management, they are doing a lot to fix the issues and I think the team will be ready with the adjustment. Nigerians will see a better performance from us going on the road.

“Of course, if you go on the road to get result and come back home to get another result it will take you to the next stage of the competition.

“This stage is not where you just lose away and you come back home to hope to make amend that will not be healthy enough, it will not be the right thing to do.

“I think this time will be a complete departure from our experiences on the road during the group stage,” said Osho.

Enyimba will be the guests of the Egyptian side, Pyramids FC in the first leg fixture on May 16 at the 30,000 seats June 30 Stadium in Cairo, Egypt while the reverse clash will hold on May 23 at the Enyimba International Stadium in Aba, Nigeria.

The winners of the two-legged encounter will meet the winners of the match between Coton Sport and ASC Jaraaf in the semifinals.