By George Akpayen
Heartland head coach, Emmanuel Amuneke, holds the belief that their first win of the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) will give his team confidence ahead of their next fixture against El-Kanemi Warriors this weekend.
The Naze Millionaires claimed their first win of the season after five attempts when they defeated Niger Tornadoes 2-0 from Michael Ogu’s double.
Amuneke, 53, feels relieved that his team got off the mark but made it clear that there is still work to be done on his playing personnel.
“We are happy we won this game because it will give us a lot of relief in terms of our next game coming up against El-Kanemi and that will give more confidence going into the game.
“All we have to do now is to go back and review ourselves and look at areas we can continue to do well as a team knowing that in a team there will always be moments of mistakes. Those moments of mistakes for me count a lot,” Amuneke told Heartland Media.
The former Nigeria international took time to explain his rebuilding process at the Owerri club, adding that he is aiming to integrate young players into the team.
He said the team will need time to develop into a solid outfit as the club faithful will need to trust the process.
“When you look at Heartland last season, a lot happened and many players have left the club. So we are redirecting the course by having younger players who can serve for the future also. We understand that when you are in the period of processing it takes time for things to really work,” he said.
Amuneke did not fail to mention Heartland’s winless period, describing it as “a bit upsetting.”
“The league is a marathon. When you lose some games or some points, it gets a bit upsetting but we are keen and focus on what we are trying to do. I am happy for the team because we deserve this joyous moment. We have played five games, we have lost three, drew one and now won one here (at the Dan Anyiam Stadium),” the former Tanzania head coach said.