Enyimba need only a draw at eliminated San Pedro of Cote d’Ivoire Sunday to advance to the knockout rounds of the CAF Confederation Cup, but coach Fatai Osho has vowed his team will be going for a win in Abidjan to seal qualification.
Hassania Agadir of Morocco have already qualified for the next round of the competition from Group D as they recorded 11 points from five matches.
Enyimba are second on seven points, Paradou of Algeria third with five points and San Pedro bottom of the standings with three points.
Coach Osho said they will be gunning for maximum points in Cote d’Ivoire even though a point will see them through.
“Anything short of at least a draw could be so costly for the team, and when you need a draw like that you’ve got to go for a win, but if you actually plan to get a draw you might end up losing it altogether,” he said.
“So the orientation is for the players to go all out for victory, which is the normal thing in football,” he said.
“We want our destiny to be in our own hand. We don’t want to start monitoring what is happening (in the group’s other game) in Agadir.
“If we can get our result in Abidjan, regardless of what happens in Agadir we will be safe, we will be home and dry. And that’s exactly what we need to do and that’s what we are preaching to the players.”
Osho further said San Pedro will be dangerous as they not be under pressure and will play for pride.
“San Pedro as at now are out of the competition completely and they stand to lose absolutely nothing, and when you’re playing with no pressure on you like that, some teams tend to play better in that situation and that’s why we have to be a bit careful,” he said.
“We have to really bring in our A-game to get the needed result.
“They should not be of an illusion that after all, the San Pedro team is out and they will be an easy picking. It’s not going to be that way.
“They have their honour
to play for and they want to do well in front of their supporters. They’ve not
been doing too well at home and I see a situation where they actually want to
turn the table.”
