New Singida Boss Popadic Banks On Fate To Topple Bandari
21st January 2019
Serbian head coach admits his side are work in progress ahead of 2019 SportPesa Cup opening quarterfinal at National Main Stadium on Tuesday
- The veteran Serb tactician who has previously coached Dar giants Simba SC to two national titles conceded his young team is yet to but into his methods having been in charge for only a couple of weeks
- He intends to abandon the 4-4-2 system Singida who took bronze at the 2018 edition held in Nakuru have been employing saying he would either work with the 4-3-3 or 4-4-2 diamond to see which formation his players will adopt to faster
- His captain, Nizar Khalfan, who will be playing in his third SP Cup remarked he would use his experience to guide his young teammates on the pitch when they lock horns with Bandari
DAR-ES-SALAAM, Tanzania- New Singida United FC head coach Dragan Popadic is banking on the unpredictability of knock out tournaments to carry his side past Kenyan outfit Bandari FC in their 2019 SportPesa Cup opener in Dar-es-Salaam.
The veteran Serb tactician who has previously coached Dar giants Simba SC to two national titles conceded his young team is yet to but into his methods having been in charge for only a couple of weeks.
Popadic further admitted he was trying out different formations with his squad in training ahead of their last eight meeting with the Dockers to address the lack of quality saying the game will give him a chance to see where they are.
“They tell me the system is knockout. If they kill us, we have to go home on Wednesday. If we kill them, they have to go home to Nairobi,” the Singida boss with vast experience in coaching in Africa laughed.
Popadic outlined his immediate task for the team lying 13th in the Tanzania Premier League on 24 points from 21 games with his first game in charge ending in a 0-1 defeat to SP Cup debutants Mbao FC in Mwanza.
Good scorer
“The team lost the coach who trained them in pre season. My first game in Mwanza showed me they do not have a good scorer.
“My job and that of the strength and power coach is to give them better physical preparation to improve them technically and tactically and foster team spirit. We have good clubs in this tournament, we have to be correct and see where is our place,” the Serbian explained.
He intends to abandon the 4-4-2 system Singida who took bronze at the 2018 edition held in Nakuru have been employing saying he would either work with the 4-3-3 or 4-4-2 diamond to see which formation his players will adopt to faster.
Popadic challenged his players to give Bandari their best shot in a bid to extend their stay in the competition where the winner will get the chance to host English Premier League side Everton FC and earn USD30,000.
“This tournament gives the players international experience. We have good teams here like AFC Leopards from Kenya, Simba and Yanga from this side and our opponents on Tuesday,” the coach highlighted.
His captain, Nizar Khalfan, who will be playing in his third SP Cup remarked he would use his experience to guide his young teammates on the pitch when they lock horns with Bandari.
“We have started the season poorly but with our new coaches who have been with us for a week, we have noted chances and we will play according to their instructions in the SportPesa Cup.
“We will try our best to eliminate Bandari and hopefully, get a chance to fight for a chance to play Everton. Our team is improving,” the former Simba midfielder charged.