176 DAYS TO GO: No pressure on Amavubi CHAN team

Rwanda head coach Johnny McKinstry has revealed that the locally based Amavubi side will not be under pressure to register victory against the South Africa U-23 side in an international friendly game on July 28 in Johannesburg. With just a week to prepare for the tie that will feature a new look side, McKinstry said he expects the players to prove themselves as he continues to analyze them. “It is a good opportunity to assess the players in a game against a good opponent but without the pressure on the players of having to worry about world ranking points or qualification. They can focus solely on their own performance, both as a team and as individuals,” he said. In the absence of regular faces in the backline, new faces like Amani Uwiringiyimana and Jean Marie Rukundo in central defence will be hoping to make a case for inclusion in future squad selections leading up to CHAN that will be hosted in Rwanda from January 16-February 7. McKinstry expects the players he retained from the team that faced Mozambique in the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) to help the new ones on board to adapt to his philosophy. “I expect the players to help each other. I want us to reach a point where a player will help another one to be as good as him without worrying that he will take his place but rather to have the belief in himself that I am a good player and the team needs to be successful. The pressure is greater but that is what makes players better,” explained McKinstry.

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176 DAYS TO GO: No pressure on Amavubi CHAN team