Impala RFC Coach Malik Ndemi wants his charges to sharpen their attack and improve their scrum ahead of a tough fixture against Menengai Oilers on Saturday.
The Ngong Road outfit lost 87-5 to former champions KCB in their opening match. The tactician said they had several opportunities to put points on the board against the bankers.
“The scoreline favoured KCB because we wasted a couple of attacking opportunities. You will see a different approach in our next match against the Oilers, and I am confident the boys will put in a good shift in both attack and defence against a quality outfit,” noted Ndemi.
On defence, Ndemi believes a robust improvement in tackling will be vital not only in the Oilers' match but for the remainder of the season.
"Defence is about commitment, and we didn't do that on Saturday. In training this week, we are working on it to ensure we are competitive against the Oilers.
Ndemi expects his charges to be in contention for a playoff spot come the end of the season, despite the setback in their opening match. "It's a long season, and I believe a couple of tweaks in facets of play will lift us come the end of the season."
Ndemi handled the side in the championship two seasons ago and will be leveraging on his experience and that of his technical bench to ensure his side plays well. “I have a good technical bench who were with the team last season, and in terms of experience, we have a strong bench."
Ndemi observed that the gap between the big three—champions Kabras, KCB and Oilers—and the rest of the league is vast. "The top three are well-resourced and have a large talent pool of players, while the rest of the teams are playing catch-up due to financial challenges."
Impala finished tenth last year on 16 points after posting three wins and eight losses —narrowly avoiding relegation with Mwamba and South Coast Pirates dropping to the championship.
Following the Oilers clash, Ndemi's charges take on champions Kabras on December 6 before an Enterprise Cup round of 16 clash on December 13th to close out the year.
