Mwalala declares Bandari’s KPL title ambition

Bandari FC head coach Bernard Mwalala has earmarked winning the elusive Kenyan Premier League (KPL) title for the coastal based side as his top priority in the 2018/19 season.

The dockers had a fairy tale run last season finishing second; their best ever run, behind reigning champions Gor Mahia.

Speaking to Citizen Digital, Mwalala noted that in order to get the momentum to sustain the title push, winning the first five league matches would be key as it lays the foundation for the season.

“Now we are not underdogs anymore, its obvious that our fans expect much from us this season but we are Bandari. We however need to start the campaign strongly  avoiding losing points in the initial stages. I believe we can beat anyone because every match will be a final to us,”said Mwalala.

Bandari will kick-off their season against Gor on December 8 at the Mbaraki Sports Club, who have recently struggled to register good results in the venue.

“It’s a match we are looking forward to and we’ve had good preparations so far. The four days we were in Zanzibar were amazing in terms of preparation, and as soon as we flied back to Mombasa we started preparing for it. It’s a big match and I feel my players are ready,” said the former Nzoia Sugar boss.

Ahead of the new season, Bandari have recruited two more players with Nzoia’s Mustapha Oduor coming to compliment  2018 KPL finest goalkeeper Farouk Shikalo , with another Nzoia player Brian Otieno (defender) also roped in.

At the same time, goalkeepers Joseph Okoth and Joseph Elimlim have been offloaded in what the coach has termed as a move to help them get more playing time elsewhere.

“We let them leave to give more room for development.We are going to add three more players before the transfer window closure. One of the players is a foreigner but because the deal has not been wrapped,we cannot reveal who he is.We are still also going to release more players to pave way for new arrivals.”