Napsa Stars give Zesco United special way to start Super League season – Jesse Were

Zesco United striker Jesse Were has explained why the 2020/21 Zambian Super League season opener against Napsa Stars will be the perfect start for the Ndola club.

Zesco United will kick off the campaign with a game against Pensioners on Sunday and Timu Ya Ziko’s all-time top-scorer believes given the opponents are strong they will, in turn, raise the stakes of the game even higher.

“It is a new season and everyone has been waiting for the campaign to start. This one has started in style especially that we are playing another big team [Napsa Stars],” Were told the club’s portal.

“It will be a big competitive game. We are a strong side especially with the changes and additions made to the club.”

The Kenya international also spoke about the readiness ahead of the new season in which they would hope to have a better campaign compared to the last one.

“The morale in the team is high. Everyone is working very hard to try and prove to the coach that they deserve to be in the starting eleven. We are determined to do well and fight for positions,” he added.

“I can safely say we have rested a lot and now everyone is mentally and physically ready to start the campaign. We have had time to recover and focus on the next challenge.”

Zesco United are expected to give prominent roles to players like Kelvin Kampamba and Bruce Musakanya, who were signed recently, and Were has welcomed the duo into the fold.

“The mixture of young and senior players has also been an extra motivation because everyone knows that they need to work hard,” the forward concluded.

“We're excited at the prospect of playing alongside [Kelvin] Kampamba and [Bruce] Musakanya. These are experienced and very good players that any striker in the league will want to play with.

“They are doing very well at the international level and I am happy that they are in our team and they will help me score goals.”

Were’s statement comes a few days after coach Numba Mumamba said they are aware of Napsa Stars’ strength’s, they have enough ammunition to deal with them.

“Napsa Stars have shown that they are a good side in the last two seasons,” the former Zambia international said at the time.

“As we go to Napsa we need to be aware that this is a different team from what we were used to in the past. They are now another powerhouse in the country.

“We have enough ammunition in this team that can help get the desired results. What we need is to prepare the team and psych them properly for us to come back with a positive result.”

Napsa Stars won their last match against Zesco United with a 2-1 scoreline.