ZESCO United coach Emmanuel Siwale says their week 14 MTN Super League encounter against Nkwazi is a must win game for the nine time Super League Champions as they have already dropped too many points so far this season.
The CAF Confederation Cup envoys are winless in their last seven games in all Competitions and are desperate for a win. They welcome struggling Nkwazi who have only managed one win so far this season at Levy Mwanawasa Stadium this afternoon.
Siwale has also cautioned his players against underrating Nkwazi as they need to have a positive attitude and do the work on the pitch so as to win the game in the 90 minutes and not off the pitch.
Siwale believes the match won’t be easy for his side as Nkwazi also want to collect maximum points and move up on the log table.
“The first one is that it’s a must win game. Looking at where we are on the table, we are not in a very good position. This is not a position which ZESCO United is used to. So it’s high time we collected maximum points. I know we haven’t played a league game for a while. So it’s important that we collect maximum points so that we move away from the position where we are,” he said.
“I don’t want to talk about Nkwazi. I just want to talk about my team. And like I’ve said, we are not in a good position. We have to be, well, we belong up there, up the table. So what is important is our game. The focus has to be against Nkwazi. And like I’ve said, this is a game where we can’t afford to drop maximum points. But football being what it is, there are sometimes situations where you drop points. But this has to do with the attitude or the approach. Like you are putting it, Nkwazi is below us. But we are in the same league. We must respect our opponents. And winning the game is not just about winning. The game will not win by itself. We have to play. After 90 minutes, like right now, we are at par.”
“And until we play the game, our game, then we can talk about the points. And the attitude has to be right towards the work. This is what even the players know, that where the position, where we are is not a good position. And even themselves, they know. Because we’ve been talking about this. We are now, we have shifted our attention to the league. The CAF Confederation Cup has been put aside. But we can learn from even the CAF (Confederation Cup) , that even the cup who haven’t done well, have lost points. Because it’s a league also. But that has to just help us. Because we can’t afford to lose any other game at the moment. So, the boys are, the team is ready. We have done what we can. What is remaining is just playing Nkwazi. It’s going to be tough. They also want to move away from where they are. Go up the table. So that’s why we shouldn’t underrate our opponent. We have to respect them. But what is important, like I’ve said, is the maximum points. That’s all we need for tomorrow’s (today) game,” he added.
Siwale says Zega Mambo are taking this match with all seriousness it deserves and has called on the fans to come out in numbers and support the team to push them so that they can collect maximum points.
“Yes, it’s the seriousness. Because I know the last league game that we played, we drew. And we’ve actually been playing the CAF games. But even before then, we lost points. So, before we played MUZA. So, the points that we lost, we are too many to lose or to drop rather. But we can always do the amends. And that’s what we want to start from. We have to collect maximum points starting tomorrow (today),” he said.
“Yes, what we are happy about is our fans. Anyway, despite losing the CAF games, because this is what they’ve watched at home, they have been with us. And yes, we have lost the boys that played well in CAF, but we haven’t been putting the ball into the net. And like I’ve said, this is a lesson that we must take into the game against Nkwazi. We are creating chances, but we are not putting the ball into the net. And you can’t win like that. But that’s where we need our 12th player, like always. In terms of difficulty, they have been with us in terms of happiness, and we are just appealing to them to come tomorrow (today ) in numbers so that they can help us achieve our objectives. We want to collect maximum points. We understand them, and we applaud them, and that’s why we are crying for them to come tomorrow (today ) and push us so that we can collect maximum points.”
