Gor Mahia coach Roberto Oliveira Goncalves believes his charges are ready for their Caf Champions League preliminary round against APR Rwanda.
K’Ogalo were involved in a three-team round-robin friendly at Jamhuri Grounds in Nairobi on Saturday. The team went on to score just one goal in the two matches which came against newly-promoted Nairobi City Stars. Kenneth Muguna scored the lone goal from the penalty to cancel out Abdalla Salim’s header.
The Kenyan champions went on to lose their second game to Posta Rangers by a solitary goal scored by Elijah Mwanzia.
“We played well, considering the fact that I played a second-string side,” Oliveira, who is commonly referred to as Robertinho, told Goal.
“It was a good game, full of chances despite missing my strikers like Tito Okello, Nicholas Kipkirui among others. This should not worry about our fans because we are ready to play APR.
“The two weeks will be vital for us, we need to polish a few areas to ensure we stand a chance of winning the game to advance to the next round.”
The 60-year-old tactician refused to speak about his situation with the Confederation of African (Caf) football. The latter has so far denied the Brazilian permission to be on the touchline when they play the Rwandan champions.
“I do not want to talk about the situation right now,” Robertinho continued.
“Our main focus currently is on the Champions League and I am preparing the team for that.”
The former Rayon Sports tactician arrived to take over the reins after Steven Polack and Gor Mahia mutually ended their one-season association.
Robertinho was in charge of Rayon Sports when they denied Gor Mahia a place in the quarter-finals of the Caf Confederation Cup as he masterminded a 2-1 win at Moi International Sports Complex in 2018.
He takes the K’Ogalo mantle after a number of coaches including Jose Marcelo Ferreira had been linked with the top job. He is expected to link up with the players who have been training in order to start preparations for the Caf assignments.
K’Ogalo are targeting the group stage of the Champions League as well as the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) Premier League title.
