Newly-crowned Kenyan champions, Tusker, have sharpened their claws well enough for their Caf Champions League encounter against Arta Solar 7 of Djibouti on September 11, head coach Robert Matano has said.
Matano spoke on Sunday as the brewers concluded their week-long low altitude training camp at the coastal city of Mombasa where he tested the mettle of his new acquisitions and gauged how well they can blend for the arduous task ahead.
Matano is confident their trip yielded the desired outcome and what remains now is for him to refine his charges a little bit more to help them gather the momentum they need to surmount their opponents.
"We were keen to build synergy in the team after a number of new players reported in and I'm glad we managed to do exactly that," said Matano.
“We needed a place where we could settle down, focus and concentrate with minimal distraction and the camp provided us with such an atmosphere.”
Skipper Humphrey Mieno said they had a brilliant time together and got to know each other even better.
“It was an opportunity to work together and build that team spirit ahead of the season. We have very tough matches in the Champions League and the Kenyan Premier League and we needed such an atmosphere to build up towards the new campaign,” said Mieno.
Meanwhile, Matano believes the drastic changes made to the squad will enable them to charge more effectively for the continental title and their domestic title defence.
The brewers went on a shopping spree following a purge that saw eleven of their players chopped from the squad, including Ugandan Rogers Aloro, midfielder Faraj Ominde and forward Chris Ochieng, who have all joined rivals Bandari.
"I've been impressed by how the new players are picking up and blending well with the rest of the squad. We brought them in to plug the existing loopholes," said Matano.
