AFC top 8 finish on track: AFC Leopards clawing their way up KPL table
Football
By
Rodgers Eshitemi
| Sep 22, 2017
AFC Leopards coach Robert Matano is optimistic a top eight finish in the Kenyan Premier League is still a realistic ambition for the club.
Leopards have been blowing hot and cold this season, but ‘The Lion’ - a strict disciplinarian - seems to be slowly steadying the ship since taking over on an interim capacity from Romanian Dorian Marin, who lasted barely two weeks after succeeding Stewart Hall.
A 2-0 convincing victory over relegation threatened Thika United on Wednesday left the eleventh-placed Leopards tied on points (31) with Nakumatt and Chemelil Sugar, just six points off the top eight places.
And with nine matches remaining before the end of the season, tough talking Matano reiterated the importance of his side’s push for top eight.
“We always play to win and I am happy the boys have bounced back. We encounter different challenges in every game, but we have always try our best to manage them.
“Actually, I feel nothing to have moved three or four places up because a club of AFC Leopards status deserves to be in the top half of the table. I don’t see anything special in that.
“We are just moving up but very slowly, we should move fast. We have lost some few matches very easily, so we must work hard and remain consistent. We are lacking consistency,” Matano told The Standard Sports
But to achieve their targets, the experienced coach has warned his charges, who recently dropped four points against Sony Sugar (0-1) and Kakamega Homeboyz (0-0), not to rest on their laurels.
“We will continue fighting and working hard. We cannot relax before the league ends, so nobody is going to relax here,” insisted Matano.
“I said earlier we will finish among the top eight, nothing has changed. The league has not ended, I don’t want to talk about what I know. Right now we are number eleven, but I can assure you by the time the season ends, we will be somewhere.”