FKF-PL: Ali confident as Mathare play catch-up

Mathare United coach Salim Ali says he will not pile undue pressure on his players in the wake of a hard-fought 1-0 win over Nzoia Sugar on Monday that saw them jump out of the relegation zone.

The win lifted the ‘Slum Boys’ up to position 16 on eight points after eight matches, a point above Western Stima and six better than bottom placed Zoo FC in the FKF Premier League standings.

Mathare have a number of matches in hand as they play catch up and the soft spoken Ali is confident that soon they will be at par with the rest.

“Things are panning out better and better each day in the team. Even in those matches we have lost it does not mean that things have not been good but what matters is the way the coach has connected and wanted his players to play,” Ali said adding that, “The most important thing is for players to understand you and execute how you want them to play.

I know moving ahead we are going to catch-up and I won’t pile any unnecessary pressure on my players since I know that we have played fewer matches compared to others who are ahead of us,” he explained.

The 2008 league champions together with Zoo FC jump-started their campaign late after failing to reach a consensus with the FKF over the league broadcast rights.

The ‘Slum Boys’ are targeting to do well on a game by game basis.

United will again be expected to regroup fast ahead of a home tie against fifth placed Kariobangi Sharks on Wednesday while Zoo FC (18) will travel to  Nairobi to tackle 10th placed Sofapaka.