Coaches of some of the clubs participating at the ongoing Governor Wike Pre-Season Tournament in Port Harcourt, as well as officials, have heaped praises on the organisers of the championships, as they described it as a good way to prepare their teams for the coming league campaign.
MFM of Lagos coach, Tony Bolus, said the tournament has afforded him the opportunity to access his team after losing some key players during the transfer window.
According to him, his team is still a work in progress, and with four points from two matches, he has been able to identify some loopholes in the team which the technical crew would work on.
“It’s (MFM) just work in progress for us,” the coach said.
“We have been working on the boys immediately after the lockdown and needed to come to a reputable place like this to test ourselves.
“The boys were decent against Bayelsa United, it’s a gradual process. Before the end of the pre-season, they should be where we expect them to be.”
For Lobi Stars coach, Kabiru Dogo, the championships afforded him to test several players amidst different formations against some solid teams like Akwa United and the rest.
Lobi Stars forced the former AITEO Cup winner to a 1-1 draw on Sunday after defeating host, Rivers United 1-0 on the opening day of the preseason.
The former Sunshine Stars of Akure coach added: “I believe my wards are improving in every game and as we can see I introduced a new team today just to test the quality that we have.”
The chairman of the organising committee of the Governor Wike Pre-Season Tournament, Badawiy Bashir, said he was impressed with the performance of teams at the games.
“I’m impressed with what is going on in the tournament so far. If you watched the cracker between Akwa United and Lobi Stars at the weekend, it was a standard one.
“Other clubs have been putting in their best. We are very comfortable and happy with the standard so far. So many have changed and we are progressing and this year’s edition is far better than what we saw the last time.”
Story By: Charles Ogundiya, Port Harcourt
