Vihiga yet to resume training as playoff date nears

Vihiga United are awaiting a response from its county government after writing to them over their intention to return to group training ahead of the FKF Premier Premier promotion/relegation playoff.

The club coached by Sammy Okoth is set to play Kisumu All Stars on the 7th and 11th of next month with the winner of the tie set to earn the right to play in the top flight next season.

“We are waiting for a response from the ministry of health- Vihiga County to be able to start full training as we follow all the health protocols and if they don’t give us on time we will wait for directions from the federation,”Okoth said.

Vihiga are seeking a return to the top flight after one season out in the cold while Kisumu All Stars will aim to protect their status in the top tier league having struggled in their maiden campaign.

Meanwhile Okoth said after getting the letter from KPL about the match they have started assembling and watching over individual trainings citing that they will have limited time to train and it will be difficult to get back to where they were.

“Since we got letter, it has made us to start assembling and training although time is limited and players may not be able to return to their normal shape but we don’t have otherwise,” Okoth added.

However, Okoth is a worried man since he hasn’t been with the full team since March and doesn’t know whether they are all fit or not and he can’t say the kind of line-up he will be using till he gets all of them to train together.

“Its tricky especially for the coach, my players have not trained together for more than six months. I don’t know those who have added weight, those who have stopped playing or gone to other clubs. I can’t even rely on the first eleven I had because I don’t know the condition of my players,” the tactician said.

Okoth has told his players that they don’t have another opportunity to play in the Premier league apart from this and they need to seize the opportunity.

“We don’t have another chance, whether we are in good shape or not, whether we have been training or not, therefore when they go to the field they have to put that inside their mind and play with all their hearts,” he added.

Vihiga United was third in the NSL before the league was stopped while Kisumu All Stars were 16th in the Kenya Premier League.

The game will be played home and away and they are unaware of which side will host first though it will be Moi stadium Kisumu and Mumias Sports Complex which are home ground for Kisumu All Stars and Vihiga United respectively.

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