By Albert Akota
Some clubs participating in the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) have set continental tickets as their target as the 2013/2014 league season kicks off tomorrow.
The newly appointed Manager of Kaduna United FC Garba Lawal, said he was in the club to win titles and get continental slot.
He said “the target is all about winning. All the 20 premier league clubs want to win the league; they also want to win the Confederation Cup.
“It is not about Enyimba, Wari Wolves, Kano Pillars or Kaduna United aiming to win the league; all the 20 premier league clubs want to win,’’ said the ex-international.
Ladan Bosso, the Technical Adviser of premier league debutants, Abia Warriors, however, said that it would be difficult to set target for the club now.
According to him, he will have made projections if he recruited his own players.
He added that “for now, I am going to keep faith in the players on ground because I have seen them. It is not a bad team.
“However, I cannot promise the people of Abia a continental ticket until week nine of the league.
“It is then also, that I should be able to say if this team needs reinforcement. However, the standard is not too low.
“The management of the club is experienced. It knows what is good for the club; so, let’s see how this combination will work this new season.’’
Paul Ozor, the General Manager, Rangers International FC, Enugu, said the club was prepared for the new season.
Ozor said that the team’s training camp at Oba, near Onitsha in Anambra, enabled the players to blend ahead of the new season.
He said “the team is ready for the new season; don’t forget that we have in our team Ejike Uzoenyi, the Most Valuable Player at the 2014 Championship of African Nations (CHAN) in South Africa.
“This tells you how determined we are to win the league at the end of the season.
“The training tour we embarked upon has helped us to blend the team. We played some friendly matches during that period.
“Those matches helped us to know our areas of deficiency and we have worked on them.’’
The new NPFL season will kick off on March 7 in 18 league stadia across the country.
