Some players of Inter Lagos FC took part in lively games of table tennis on Tuesday, as their coach, Shakiru Giwa tried to calm tension in the squad ahead of their second match at the Nigeria National League (NNL) Super-4 in Ikenne.
Sports247 gathered that, with many of the players still brooding over their shock defeat by Doma United of Gombe on Monday, Giwa felt there was a need to revive their spirit before they step out for the next tie this midweek.
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Incidentally, it will be a ‘battle of losers,’ as their opponents, Ranchers Bees of Kaduna, fell by the same 1-0 scoreline to Sporting Lagos in the competition’s opening match, meaning both sides will be desperate to win their next game.
With victory now of a premium for both teams, Giwa admitted that his players must be psyched up fully and not overstretched; hence, his decision to make them lively and he reduced their workload during Tuesday’s training session.
The former Julius Berger striker and captain, who handled Ladegbuwa FC of Iwo Ijebu before joining Inter Lagos mid-season, also admitted that his youthful players have to overcome stage fright while playing at this unfamiliar level of football.
The lanky tactician noted, “It’s a must-win game for us. We need to avoid another defeat in order to remain part and parcel of this competition.
“We have already gone back to the boardroom to correct a lot of things after the defeat on Monday, and we had a useful training session on Tuesday morning.
“So, definitely, we will come out smoking in order to defeat Ranchers Bees and remain in contention for the trophy. That’s why we did not stretch the boys during training on Tuesday.
“We just did some light routines, and some of them played table tennis to help them relax their bodies after the disappointment of Monday.”
Giwa concluded with reassuring words to the club’s fans that the light drills and short training session the team had on Tuesday is the right tonic needed by the lads, in order to prepare them mentally, psychologically and physically for their midweek cracker against Ranchers Bees.
“We did more of recovery work and we even allowed some of them to play table tennis. That’s because we don’t want to put too much pressure on them.
“We just have to keep on encouraging them, because we have a lot of young players who have not featured at this level before. Some of them were psychologically affected by Monday’s defeat.
“It’s also true that one of our major problems in that match was inexperience; but we’ve put all that aside and we will come out better on Wednesday,” Giwa reiterated.
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