Ulinzi Stars head coach Benard Mwalala has recounted the first five months at the club since the confirmation of his appointment in September.Speaking to Mozzart Sport, Mwalala detailed the team’s target, the recent unconvincing streak, his experience settling in, the expectations around the team, and the performance of the premier League rookies at the club this season.Mwalala, a striker during his playing days, stated categorically that the team’s target for the current campaign is to win the title, but they will first have to break back into the top five as per their plans for the first half of the season.The Soldiers are seventh with 24 points collected from six wins and six draws from the 15 matches that the team has played, with only three losses.Ulinzi Stars unveil Mwalala as new coach after three month courtshipIn the matches that they have lost, the coach believes it was all their undoing and had they been more assertive, they would have picked points in those matches.”Our target as a team remains to win the title this season. The good thing with Ulinzi is that it has a team that has been league champions previously. Therefore that makes it easy to rally the players to believe that they can do it again. To do that, we will need squad depth and I will strengthen all the departments if I feel there is a need to do so. I have now understood the team, I know what each department looks like, where our strengths are, and where we could make some additions,In the matches that we have played so far, I feel that there is no team that deserved to beat us. It was all our undoing. We have been working on that mentality. Sometimes, the games will lock and that is when I expect everyone in the team to show personal brilliance. When all the personal strengths of each individual player are put together in such matches, they will bring forward good team effort,” he said.Speaking about the team’s recent run, Mwalala is not impressed by his charges and has issued a rallying call to his players to kill matches when they have an advantage instead of having to fight back.##NAJAVA_MECA_7014101##The four-time champions saw their 10-match unbeaten streak ended by Nzoia Sugar in their backyard, and since then the coach has admitted that he has not been impressed with the performance in the matches that followed (a hard-fought win over Vihiga Bullets and a one-all draw against 10-man Bidco United.)”I am not happy with the performance of the players in the last couple of matches since the loss to Nzoia Sugar at home. As a coach, I always prepare my team to win, give them the belief that they can beat any opponent that they come across. However, there is a need for them to be assertive more so when facing opponents whom we feel as a team we have a higher probability of beating. I want to see the players show that they deserve the chance to play in this team when called upon. They need to kill the game and not chase the game even when we have the advantage. In my approach to matches in my team, losing is like a crime and I want the players, and everyone involved to have the same mentality,” he outlined.The former Kakamega Homeboyz tactician is the first civilian coach at the club since the exit of Robert Matano at the start of 2017, and he has urged everyone to embrace the change.Loss to Nzoia Sugar a perfect wakeup call – Ulinzi Stars coaches opineAlthough it was not easy at first, Mwalala said that things are aligning and the results of a cordial working relationship will show.”As a coach, I have my challenges but I cannot go saying that they are the cause of poor results. I have to embrace them and make good use of them as a stepping stone to achieving what we have set as a team. This is the first time that Ulinzi is having a civilian coach after a while and perhaps everyone took long to adjust to that but everything is on track now. It was a process but we are slowly getting there and I urge the entire Ulinzi family to embrace the change,” Mwalala said.According to Mwalala, the expectation from everyone around the club is high this season as opposed to other recent seasons because there is common belief that they have what it takes to wrestle with the other big boys in the league.”At the moment, what everyone is demanding from Ulinzi is different from some seasons back. Everyone has seen that there is potential in this team and they have high expectations of the club. The fans have been doing a very good job of pushing the players this season. I call upon the players specifically to reward these fans with good results because that is how we will keep them,” Mwalala opined.Mwalala appreciates Ulinzi’s growing fan baseCommenting on the new players at the team, specifically the young ones, Mwalala said that they have proved themselves at the highest stage and has tipped them to continue improving.Teenagers Staphod Odhiambo, a midfielder, and custodian Sylvain Ricks Omondi have been constant figures in the team, with their contribution evident to the team.While Staphod has scored thrice, winning the match for the Soldiers in two instances, Omondi has been a wall between the sticks, conceding just seven goals in 13 matches, keeping seven clean sheets in the process.”The new young players have settled in very well. They have been some of the standout players and are the ones who have carried us in some matches and I feel that is a good thing for the whole team. I still encourage them to have the courage to talk to the senior players while on the field. At the start, it seemed like there was some fear but all that is changing slowly. They are still young and absorb what they are told very quickly, and that has made it easy for me and my technical bench,” he finished.
