The K’Ogalo skipper maintains they are still in the race to win a fourth straight title and the Brewers must not celebrate yet
Gor Mahia defender Harun Shakava has stated they are still in the title race for the FKF Premier League title and has warned table-toppers Tusker to stop celebrating.
The Kenyan top-flight is set to resume on Friday, May 14, after the government lifted the ban imposed on sporting activities owing to coronavirus pandemic.
The K’Ogalo captain has insisted despite Tusker topping the 18-team table, they still have a full second leg to play for in the season and that they will still fight to the end to make sure they clinch a fourth successive title in their history.
“We are hoping games will kick off as planned, at least FKF have given us four to five days to train, so I am confident the team will be fit and ready to play, we are preparing for the start and we are ready to start again,” Shakava told Goal.
“Every season is always different, this season is tough, we are lying seventh on the table and it is a tough season but I cannot say Tusker have won the league, we still have an entire second leg to play so anything can happen and I hope if we play well, we should not be written off, we can also compete for the title, I don’t see anything difficult for us to compete for the title.”
On the problems they faced during the break caused by Covid-19, Shakava said: “Covid-19 has really affected us and the rhythm of the players, it is not easy to train individually, but we struggled to train alone, we fought to maintain our fitness level because that is the most important thing.
“But it was not easy to make it on your own, but at least now we have come together, training as a group then it will shape us well, the mood in the camp is good and we are good to go.”
On his part, former captain Kenneth Muguna told Goal: “I think it means a lot [to take the Covid-19 test], finally we have a smile back on our faces, we have missed playing as you all know, so I think this is a big step for the return of the league and we hope that we start playing as soon as possible.
“It has been great when started training as a group, you know when you train alone is not as a good as when you are in a group, there is always fun when training as a group and I think the mood in the team is now great and we are now hoping the league could just start.”
Gor Mahia, who will resume action with a clash against Nairobi City Stars, were struggling before the season was halted as they had already suffered six defeats from 14 matches and were lying seventh with 22 points.
Tusker are topping the table with 36 points from 16 matches while KCB are second with 30 points from 15 matches and AFC Leopards are third with 29 points from 14 outings.