Vasco da Gama’s new coach Andrew Pequeno has revealed that he will draw on every ounce of his coaching experience to aid his team settle quicker for the upcoming Third Division campaign of Safa Cape Town.
Pequeno, who led Hanover Park FC to promotion a couple of seasons ago, is fully aware of the challenges the league possesses with the hectic fixture schedule, coupled with all the travelling which is no child’s play – hence, he wants to get a flying start.
With 18 teams contesting for one promotional spot, it will be imperative for the title challengers to ensure that they accumulate as many points as possible – from the outset – and their allotted the 34 matches.
“This is a very tough league that is filled with top coaches and teams with large budgets that all want to win the league and gain promotion,” Pequeno stated.
“We will go out and give it our all and my past experience in this league will hopefully help our boys settle in quicker,” he added.
Vasco, also dubbed as the Fish & Chips Boys, unfortunately did not have the luck of the draw when their name was drawn out of the hat – along with Greenwood Athletic – to play in the preliminary match of the Nedbank Cup on Tuesday (24 October).
The winner will progress to the Round of 16 where Silver Spurs await. If it is any consolation for Vasco or Greenwood, Spurs will have to travel either to Parow or Retreat.
Pequeno stated that their preparation thus far is going well and that they are on track for the Nedbank Cup competition.
“We will only know where we stand once the Nedbank Cup begins and we will use that as our final preparation for the season,” the Vasco mentor stated.
“We have a tough start (in the league) with three of our first four games away from home, but we all know it is a long season and a marathon and not a sprint.
“We are excited to take on the challenge and me and my technical team are going into this season with our eyes open to the big challenge ahead.
“Our squad is a good mix of youth and experience and I have been privileged to have the bulk of the LFA players that were brought through by my assistant coach Robbie Pretorius,” Pequeno concluded.
