Pascalinah Kabi
MASERU — With Lesotho’s national team back on the international stage, 2012 is promising to be a busy year for Likuena head coach, Leslie Notši.
Likuena will take part in the 2013 African Nations Cup qualifiers as well as the 2014 World Cup qualifiers.
The Sunday Express this week spoke to Notši about his plans for the team. Below are excerpts of the interview:
Sunday Express (SE): Likuena enter the New Year on a high after dispatching Burundi in the preliminary round of the 2014 World Cup qualifiers. What does the victory mean to the team?
Notši: It means we must continue from where we left off and work harder to improve ourselves. We want to make the nation proud by winning more official games.
SE: What things would you want to see as we enter 2012 and those that are a definite no as we prepare for the Sao Tomé tie in the Africa Cup of Nations preliminary qualifiers?
Notši: There are habits which do not benefit the team and players and must be eliminated as we strive to turn Likuena into a better outfit.
SE: What are some of these habits?
Notši: We understand that the players are not yet professionals but they must have respect for the sport. They must also start to work on changing their social life and become better persons because they are now role models by virtue of playing for the senior national team.
SE: What have been the team’s strengthens?
Notši: Our strength has been playing as a unit since the team was re-introduced onto the international arena. We’ve always worked hard not to concede more goals in our games and strive to be a scoring team.
SE: What plan do you have for Likuena this year?
Notši: There is a plan of action that I have already sold to the team manager (Khiba Mohoanyane) and the chief executive officer (Mofihli Makoele). Basically we are looking at having more international games to help improve our standard and boost the players’ confidence ahead of World Cup qualifying matches in June. If I could have my way, we should have a training camp in Europe or Asia.
Likuena’s six months plan:
January: Preparations for African Nations Cup preliminary round tie against Sao Tomé on January 15 (Sao Tomé) and January 22 (Maseru).
February: International friendly matches against Swaziland and Mozambique in Mbabane and Maputo respectively.
African Nations Cup tie against Sierra Leone if Lesotho beat Sao Tomé and proceed to the next stage.
March: International friendly against Namibia
April: High altitude training in one of the highlands district.
May: Proposed training camp in either Asia or Europe to build players’ confidence ahead of the World Cup qualifying matches in June. Likuena technical team is still finalising the plan
June: 2014 World Cup qualifiers against Ghana and Sudan as well as Nations Cup return leg against Sierra Leone.
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