•The brewers finished ahead of their fiercest challengers Kakamega Homeboyz to retain their title in July following a similar feat in the 2020/2021 season.
•He concedes it hasn't been all easy cementing his space in the brewers' starting lineup.
Image: HANDOUT
Tusker mercurial midfielder, Apollo Otieno, says he is all set to propel his club to a third consecutive Kenyan Premier League title in the coming season.
The brewers finished ahead of their fiercest challengers Kakamega Homeboyz to retain the silverware in July after pulling off a similar feat in the 2020/2021 season.
Otieno now reckons they still possess the mojo to attain another milestone in the new season that kicks off on September 10.
“My target this season is to retain the trophy with Tusker. Once we've done that, everything else will fall in place,” Otieno said.
The Kakamega High School alumnus said he realized his childhood dream when he clinched the title with the Ruaraka-based brewers two times on the spin.
“Penning a deal with Tusker was a dream come true because I'd always dreamt of featuring for the side when I was still in high school,” Otieno said.
He joined Tusker in 2018 from the defunct top-tier side Chemelil Sugar on a three-year deal. And although he arrived raw and young, Otieno admits sharing the stage with the big boys of the industry helped him to strop his talons.
“I joined Tusker when I was still very young and I had to work extra hard to cope with the high demands of the club.”
“Playing alongside players like Brian Osumba and Humphrey Mieno motivated me a great deal because they were players I had admired and it never crossed my mind I would be playing with them in the same club.”
“I felt very comfortable playing with them. As much as they were not talking to me directly, I learned quite a lot just being around them.”
“I felt I've really grown and developed my skills while turning out for Tusker. As a player, I've always dreamt of clinching the KPL title and I managed to do that with Tusker last season. It was all through hard work.
He concedes it hasn't been all easy cementing his space in the brewers' starting lineup.
“It's upon every player to work hard individually to cement a position in the starting lineup because it's a big club and the competition is very high,” Otieno said.
The 26-year-old midfielder said he has his sights firmly trained on turning pro in the near future once he is done with the club.
“Both Meja and Eugene Asike motivate me a lot. Since they are my former teammates, they make me believe I can also clinch pro deals abroad.
Tusker are set to open their account against Posta Rangers at the Ruaraka grounds on September 10 and Matano believes they have done enough to prepare for the new challenge.