After winning the FA Cup competition three times in a row, Mustapha Manneh, head coach of Gamtel FC, has set the league title as his priority next season.
Speaking to Pointsports yesterday at the Gamtel/Gamcel office in Brusubi, Manneh said they would prepare themselves well for the league next season after finishing sixth in this year’s battle.
He reiterated his statement that the league will be their priority next season, adding that they need a lot of adjustment for the team. He is sure as a technician and head coach of the team in support of his technical staff they will work very well to adjust where they went wrong this season to ensure they achieve their target.
When he took over as head coach of the team and as a staff of the company their priority was to win something since the team never had a trophy or medal prior to his taking over.
He noted that as a company staff, being selected as head coach is another trust reposed in him, and thanked God that since he took over, he has won the FA Cup as well as a silver in the WAFU competition.
He stated that they have produced a lot of national players even though the team is young in the Gambian competition but that everything is step by step.
Head coach Manneh also said they have the players and materials to win the league but unfortunately this season they had a lot of injuries along the way during the league because they were playing throughout the league and the WAFU competition.
“Most of our strikers had injuries so we had to go back to reform the team and before we finish, the league was ending,” he said, while thanking God that some of the players did recover during the FA Cup competition and fought back and won the FA Cup.
Football is all about commitment, he said, adding that 90% of his players including the management are committed.
The management has given them all the support they need to ensure they achieve something, he said, adding that the players are motivated and given courage, which “is one of the factors” for their achievements.
The FA Cup final against Interior FC was not an easy game, he said, adding: “if you look at Interior’s road to the final, they eliminated very good teams who were contenders for the first division league title but that in Gambian football there is no category because if you go to nawettan football, which is the grassroots you would see first division and even national players playing there.”
