Gaspo Women striker Mercy Airo has urged the team to adopt a strong mentality to keep their hopes of qualifying for the Kenya Women's Premier League play-offs alive.
The league has been formatted into two zones and only the top three teams drawn from each zone will face off in a six-team mini-league at the end of the season to determine the overall winner.
Gaspo narrowly missed out on the title last season after finishing second behind eventual winners Vihiga Queens.
The Thika- based side, who acquired Airo from Kisumu Starlets in the last transfer window will hope that she replicates her form in the previous season where she netted 33 goals to become runner-up in the golden boot race.
Airo however, acknowledges that matching her last season's tally will be a tall order given that she will now feature in fewer matches because the WPL has since been divided into two zones. She says can only target 20 goals.
"We will play about 14 matches as opposed to last season when we played 28. 20 is a realistic target for me but for now, my aim is to fit seamlessly into the team and put in a string of impressive performances," she said.
The Nyakach Girls High School alumnus revealed that it was a hard decision for her to ditch the lakeside club for Gaspo but that the opportunity to compete for titles was hard to turn down.
"Leaving Kisumu Starlets was not easy but the drive for a new challenge and a chance to fight for honours made me sought for greener pastures. It's a new learning experience for me but I believe in my qualities and I will grow from strength to strength. Gaspo has the quality and squad to compete for the title," she revealed.
Airo was on target for Gaspo when they lost 2-1 to Thika Queens a week ago.
Gaspo's hopes of salvaging at least a point in their opening game were dealt a blow after Thika capitalized on a concentration lapse to score the winning goal in extra time.
"The whole team slackened off in every aspect in the last minutes of the match and we got punished. We need maximum concentration to play the entire match," said Airo.
"It was painful to mark my debut on a losing note but we come back stronger after the break. We need to be tougher mentally though I acknowledge players are not 100 per cent fit."
The 20-year old Kenya international, scored four goals when Harambee Starlets lifted the Confederation for East and Central Africa Football Association CECAFA women championship title in Tanzania, December last year.
