First Bank FC of Lagos coach, Gafar Muhammad is still celebrating his side’s stunning 5-1 spanking of Colin Edward Sports Club in their first match of the Nationwide League One (NLO) new season.
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Coach Gafar Muhammad shot a lot back at the wide score margin enacted by his team at Maracana Stadium, Ajegunle, Lagos and admitted that he was thrilled with the rain of goals.
He, however, quickly acknowledged that it is only the beginning of a long process towards gaining promotion to the second-tier Nigerian National League (NNL), which his team missed by the whiskers last season.
The soft-spoken gaffer disclosed that he and the club’s management have marshalled out a game plan that will ensure The Elephant Boys finally achieve their desired target of gaining promotion at the end of this campaign.
Saturday’s win took his side top of the NLO on goals difference, ahead of Real Sapphire, Crime Fighters and Alim City, which Coach Gafar Muhammad believes will boost his players’ confidence heading into their next game against Valiant FC, who lost on the opening day.
“It’s a good start,” the articulate coach retorted, “but we must not forget that the league is a marathon.
“Nonetheless, if you start well, it’s going to boost your morale; it will give you confidence. So, I’m happy to get the victory and with many goals.”
Gafar added that he and his players learnt a big lesson from how they failed to gain promotion last season, even after reaching the super-8 play-offs, but expressed certitude that they will get it right this time out.
He continued, “We picked the ticket last season, and we went for the play-off but, unfortunately, we lost gallantly. We’ve learnt a lot of lessons.
“That’s why this season we set a target and goal for ourselves that we don’t have to settle for anything less than picking the play-off ticket again and gaining promotion this time.”
He concluded by stating the areas of improvement he has brought technically into the new season and how the club’s management supported the crew in the recruitment of new players.
“We’ve improved more on the tactical aspect of the game and in the recruitment of players. We tried to beef up the team with new quality players.
“We’ve also set a big goal for ourselves, and we want to go for the jugular,” Muhammad submitted emphatically.
