Fatai Osho has assured that his Association Sportive de la Vallée de l’Ouémé (ASVO) FC will give its best shots against Shooting Stars of Ibadan.
Osho revealed his pre-match routine ahead of Thursday’s Optima Energy Gold Cup semi-final against the Oluyole Warriors at the Remo Stars International Stadium, Ikenne by 3pm.
“I’m impressed with the transition in my team, coming from an opening day defeat to a draw and a win in the final group game,” he told Optima Energy Gold Cup preseason tournament Media Channel.
“But, we can’t be ignorant of the fact that we still have a whole lot of work to do, to make the team better. Having a contest with Shooting Stars in the semi-final will help us as a team, as the Oluyole Warriors will expose our weaknesses and strengths, and on our part, we’ll be ambitious.
“Once a team is in the semi-final of any tournament and has the chance to win it, then such a team must give its best shot. That ASVO FC will do, as we want to have another test with defending champions Beyond Limits in the final if both teams qualify.
“We are looking forward to the Optima Energy Gold Cup final, as there’s always a first time. In the last week of intense training and looking at the work rate of players in the matches we have played coming this far, I am highly encouraged. So playing in the final on Saturday will be an icing on the cake for us.
“My assistants and I will prepare the team mentally for Shooting Stars and with a mindset that anything is quite possible.”
On his team’s progress in the preseason tournament, “It has been one with mixed emotions but a good one for the team, as finishing the final game against Kasam FA with a win and with 10-man, said a lot about the team.
“In our first game against Beyond Limits, we started badly, the conditioning was not there, and we then had to work extra hard on the players, so that they could be able to compete, that’s was has manifested in the team as they can now play better with the ball as a unit and execute my tactical instructions on the pitch.
“The fitness level of my players is gradually coming up, as this is the only time we can overload them in training and still ask them to play.
On his no-show in the dugout, ” It is deliberate. It’s a preseason tournament, and I want my assistants to do much of the job on the touchline while I watch calmly and jot on my notes the key things I see about my players during matches.”
Osho, a former coach of Akwa United, has assured ASVO FC fans that they will see his ‘Sugar Ball’ when the Beninese season kicks off.
“No doubt about it, we are going to be good in that area, my free-flowing football. Practically, we have just two weeks to work as a unit, and to have a team, where you can have players that can pass the ball to each other with their eyes closed, would need time.”
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