Menengai Oilers head coach Gibson Weru believes they have wiped out the errors that derailed their title charge last season.
Speaking on Tuesday, Weru said a robust pre-season coupled with smart signings on the transfer market will be vital as they look to challenge champions Kabras and perennial contenders KCB.
"We did an extensive review of the season to find out where we went wrong. We lacked physicality in our back row. We have since brought in new faces to give us the momentum and to match the top two teams in the division,” said Weru.
Oilers finished third last season after amassing 37 points from seven wins and four losses and Weru believes losses to Blak Blad and Strathmore hurt their chances of finishing higher in the standings.
“We lacked consistency last season and that is one area that the technical and I have addressed. We hope to avoid these errors this season,” added Weru.
The former Kenya Sevens playmaker and Nakuru RFC player said the return of centre Harold Anduvate will be a big boost for his charges after recovering from an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury sustained in October 2021.
“It's been a long recovery process for him but I am happy he is back in training. He will get game time as the season progresses,” said Weru.
Weru's selection headache will be on who to play at flyhalf after their regular in the position, Geoffrey Ominde, dropped to the technical bench.
“Flyhalf is a key position for any side and right now we are looking at Mark Kwemoi and Andrew Odero as the 10s in our team," said Weru.
The Nakuru-based side added Kenya Simbas back row Elkeans Musonye and Jadah Abdon from Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology(MMUST) in an effort to bolster their forward pack.
However, Weru was non-committal on the side's chances of winning the Kenya Cup for the first time ever.
“We will take one game at a time and see how the season unfolds. But we want to ensure we play in the playoffs come March next year," he observed.
Oilers will open their campaign against Homeboyz on Saturday, visit Mwamba on December 9, and host Strathmore Leos on December 16.
