Sunrise Football Club new head Coach Andre Casa Mbungo has acknowledged that his first task is to improve the players’ confidence as he seeks to build a winning spirit in the team.

The former AS Kigali and Police FC coach signed a five-month contract until end of the season.

In the next two fixtures, Sunrise FC faces bottom-placed Pepiniere on Sunday and Rayon Sports on March 10.

Mbungo, who won his first game in charge against Marines 3-2 on Saturday at Umuganda Stadium, replaces Nigerian coach Andrew Ibeh, who was sacked last week.

Mbungo has been tasked to finish in middle of the table at the end of the season and help the club to have a real go at the Peace Cup. The Nyagatare-based side is currently sitting in ninth place in the league table with 21 points from 16 matches played this season.

"I will be there for the rest of the season. The idea is to make the team perform better in the remaining matches. They have asked me to build a consistent team and finish as high as we possibly can,” Mbungo told Times Sport.

On returning to work after nearly ten months out since being sacked by Police FC, the 48-year-old tactician noted that, "It has not been good to sit without working, but now it’s a new challenge and I have to work hard so that we can attain our targets.”

Police FC sacked Mbungo after a run of poor results that saw the club end last season empty-handed. He had guided the club to the Peace Cup title the previous season.

Mbungo stands out as the only coach in Rwandan football history to have won two Peace Cup titles with two different clubs. He first won it with AS Kigali in 2013.

editorial@newtimes.co.rw