AFC Leopards Secretary General Gilbert Andugu states that the aim next season should be to end the team’s long wait for an FKF Premier League title by dethroning record league champions Gor Mahia.Ingwe last lifted the league title in 1998, a whopping 26 years ago, and although they have several times come close, they fell short in the most critical stages of the season, disappointing their fans who have stuck with the team through thick and thin.##NAJAVA_MECA_8142197##The club currently sits 6th in the FKF Premier League log. Their only hope of ending the season with silverware was dashed last week when they lost to Kenya Police FC in the Mozzart Bet Cup semifinals at the Police Sacco Grounds, a match that had to be finished the following day due to security concerns.Andugu now says that the team has to strategize and try to bag the title next season, urging the fans to remain calm as the Tomas Trucha-led team seeks to end its drought. “I just want to ask our fans to stay calm, reason together, and focus. What lies ahead is to prepare the team that will be able to stop the 26-year drought without the league by finishing top next season,” he told Citizen Digital.The club honcho further delved into the team’s struggles early in the season. Ingwe was in the red zone for almost the entire first leg. They had to fire coach Tom Juma and replace him with Trucha, who did well to stabilize the ship.Evans Kadenge opens up on Nzoia Sugar woesBefore the season started, Ingwe risked being relegated for failing to pay their former coach Patrick Aussems over KES 20 million for breach of contract. However, high-level intervention saved the day as the two parties agreed on a payment plan. Andugu believes that the off-pitch issues directly affected the team, leading to the early season struggles.“We didn’t start well this season because of the problems brought about by our former head coach Patrick Aussems. He had taken us to FIFA demanding payment of his salary arrears, and that made things difficult, because even the players we had signed had to wait for FIFA to confirm the lifting of the ban before we proceeded with the exercise of bolstering the squad,” he added.Ingwe will be out to finish the remaining three league matches strongly and also secure a third-place finish in the Mozzart Bet Cup, which comes with a KES 700,000 token.Erick ‘Marcelo’ Ouma declares full fitness, eyes return to Rakow in Poland and Harambee Stars
