Good morning All
The weekend is here, and what a week it’s been. We finally got a glimpse of our new-look Enyimba, and if we are being honest, it’s time to adjust expectations for the season ahead. The Tico/Select Tournament gave us some easy wins, but the Kun Khalifat game was a sobering reminder that trouble might be closer than we think.
Earlier in the week, we discussed Eguma’s comments and his set targets for the season. If you missed it, go check it out. Those comments reminded me of something I saw often about a decade ago when I worked with the League Management Company.
In 2015, I interviewed the Kwara United coach Abdulrahman, if memory serves; right after they lost to Dolphins in Port Harcourt. I asked him one question: What’s the season’s target for your team?
His reply was instant: “Continental Ticket.”
This was a newly promoted side. The realistic goal was survival, but no—Continental Ticket. A quarter of the season later, he was fired. By season’s end, Enyimba won the league, Warri Wolves came second, and Kwara United went straight back down with Taraba and Bayelsa United.
That’s the thing: “Continental Ticket” is the oldest trick in the book. Coaches say it when they have nothing else to say. Same way, after a loss, they fall back on “slight lapse in concentration.” Eguma is no different. Go back to his post-match interviews and you’ll see nine times out of ten, the quotes practically write themselves.
And no, no one should panic over preseason results. But neither should anyone swallow Eguma’s words whole without a sip of water. The quality in this squad is alarmingly low, and if that trend holds, relegation is not unthinkable. Say what you like, but when a rookie side strolls into the Elephant Park and humiliates us, it’s a sign that we are not as “scary” as we think. Even with our forthcoming office and club house.
One week from now, the real season begins. We watch, we wait, we pray, Oh Lord, deliver us from our enemies.
Back tomorrow
‘EnyimbaEnyi
