Abia Warriors “Prepared” For New Season, Says Coach Imama Amapakabo

“We Need To Start On A Good Footing” — Coach Targets 27 Points From First 9 Games, Promises More Attacking Football

UMUAHIA, Abia State – Abia Warriors Head Coach, Imama Amapakabo, says the team is “prepared in our best possible way” for the new Nigeria Premier Football League season which kicks off today.

Coach Imama made this known during an interview with the club’s media ahead of their opening fixture on Sunday.

With the league set to commence, the Warriors boss stressed the importance of starting the campaign with maximum points.

“We’ve discussed as players, we’ve discussed as individuals, as groups of players, and I think everybody knows the importance of starting the league,” he said.

Breaking down the season, Imama likened it to a “400-meter sprint,” noting that 114 points are available and that the first nine games represent “the first 100 meters.”

“We’ll look at the first nine games, which is 27 points, and see how many points we’ll be able to accumulate from there. And we’ll take it off from there. But most importantly, we need to start on a good footing.”

On what he wants to see on Sunday to know pre-season work has paid off, the coach said it will be about how well the players have “imbibed my philosophy.”

“And also, in the offensive third, how well they are able to coordinate, because over the course of this pre-season, it has been one big challenging aspect for us. You know, we’ve not been converting chances. And I think we had that as a problem last season, and I’m trying to correct that this year.”

Addressing tactical changes, Imama admitted the team lost a couple of key players and is rebuilding, but insisted his philosophy remains aggressive.

“It’s unfortunate, you know, we lost a couple of players from the team that was with us last year. We are rebuilding a new team,” he said.

“But my philosophy has always been that if they score me 15 and I can score 18, I will always win. I am an attack-minded coach, and I want my team to attack. I am not scared of losing, but I don’t want to lose.”

He added that after the first nine games, the technical crew will assess the team to know “where we’re coming from and where we need to correct.”

Abia Warriors will begin their NPFL campaign this weekend as they seek to improve on last season’s performance.