By GILBERT WANDERA

Tusker coach Robert Matano has warned their opponents not to underrate them idespite their poor form in the Kenyan Premier League (KPL).

Matano, whose side let go of a 1-0 lead on Saturday to share a point with AFC Leopards, said they will recover and catch up with the rest.

“The players are aware that we need to do something quickly because the more we lose ground, the more difficult it will to catch up.

“On the other hand there are also many matches remaining and this should give us an opportunity to catch up with the leaders,” said the coach.

Matano at the same time said taking part in the CAF Champions league where they were knocked out by African champions Al-Ahly took away their focus from the local competition but they are working

Tusker lost 4-1 on goal aggregate to the Egyptian side to bow out from the competition in the first round for the second year running.

Elsewhere, Harambee Stars coach Adel Amrouche is disappointed by the absence of Gor Mahia striker Paul Kiongera ahead of the June 5 World Cup qualifier against Nigeria in Nairobi.

Kiongera has been ruled out for upto six months as he is supposed to undergo an operation and the Kenyan coach says his absence together with that of team captain Dennis Oliech who is suspended for the Nigeria match is a big blow to his side.

BEST BET

“Kiongera was my best bet to replace Oliech. He has all the qualities to do it and it makes it doubly disappointing that we will not have him and Oliech,” said the coach.

The coach also took issue with how the player’s injury was managed and claimed he was forced to start training when he was not ready in a move that made it worse necessitating an operation.

“When he first got the injury, I spoke to the player and the club and asked them to give it time for healing. I even offered to get him a specialised doctor to manage the injury but all this was ignored as the player returned to training when he was not fully recovered. I’m disappointed at how the whole issue was handled,” he added.

Amrouche has already named a 25 member squad to start preparations for the June 5 fixture.