NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 1 – AFC Leopards will play two more fixtures within a span of four days and head coach Patrick Aussems says he will have to rotate his squad to ensure freshness after a brutal month of January that saw them play seven matches in 25 days, an average of a game every three days.
Aussems says the congested fixture has been brutal on his young side, especially noting that he doesn’t have a huge squad with him due to their current transfer embargo.
“For us, freshness is key. We need to make some rotation and I want to keep my players fit for the next two weeks. I have a very small squad and some of them are still young. We have maybe 13 or 14 players who can always play and the options are limited. But we mist make sure that we give them some rest,” said the tactician.
Leopards face off with strugglers Vihiga Bullets on Wednesday at the Nyayo National Stadium before travelling to Bungoma to face off high-flying league leaders Nzoia Sugar on Sunday.
“It has been very tough because we play every three days but after Sunday now we will have a match every week and that will be easier for us to manage,” he noted.
Leopards have won three of their last four matches and their last game was a barren draw against arch rivals Gor Mahia in the Mashemeji Derby.
He says he is pleased with the team’s run so far and hopes they can continue the same way.
“Last season, we didn’t win three matches in a row but this season we have. We made a point against Gor Mahia which was not an easy match,” said the coach.
Reflecting back on the derby he said; “We had the best chances to score and for them they didn’t have much maybe from setpieces. But sometimes it is like that and for us if we can’t win then we must make sure we don’t lose.”
“It (failing to score) is a problem that we have had for a long time now that we have chances but we are low on efficiency. We will try to work on that and improve,” the tactician added.
