AS Kigali coach targets league title

AS Kigali FC started the season with the main target to avoid relegation or at best finish in mid table but halfway through the campaign they have turned into title contenders.

Wednesday, January 02, 2013
Surprise package: AS Kigali boosted their title hopes with a 1-0 win over the champions APR last week. The New Times / T. Kisambira.

AS Kigali FC started the season with the main target to avoid relegation or at best finish in mid table but halfway through the campaign they have turned into title contenders. The Kigali City sponsored team leads the league table 21 points, two points ahead of fellow title contenders Police and SC Kiyovu, with the champions APR FC a five points off the pace in sixth position after 10 rounds of matches.But now with their first target already achieved, AS Kigali head coach Andrew ‘Casa’ Gasambungo is setting new and higher targets of winning the league for the first time.In a recent interview with Times Sport, Gasambungo said his team needs not just better technical and tactical requirements but more importantly strong mentality if they are to pull off what would be the biggest shock in the history of Rwandan football."Yes we want to win the league but we are still building a team for the future, we know where we are coming from and where we are going to achieve our targets."It will take time because we made so many changes on the team this season, it’s a new team but we are still learning how to be at the top and managing the pressures that come with it. We need to be consistent, and if we can do that for the rest of the season, I don’t see why we can’t win the league,” he explained.He added, "We know we cannot win every good match but it is good to have strong mentality and character to be a winner. This is what we need in our team and I have tried to teach the players to be strong mentally and physically.” "We have been progressing well this season, we are happy because with the position we’re, it’s going to be tough to stay there for the rest of the season but we hope to keep the pace until the very end and see where we end up. It’s not easily to stay on the top with the big teams within touching distance,” stated the former La Jeunesse coach.