Simba SC midfielder Clatous Chama has told his teammates to be very careful when they take on Plateau United in the CAF Champions League on Sunday.
The Tanzanian giants were drawn to face the Nigerian outfit in the preliminary round of the competition and they will face off in the first leg set for Abuja.
The Zambian star, who was voted the best player and midfield of the year in the Mainland Premier league for the 2019-20 campaign, has now warned his teammates to play as a team if they are to get the campaign in the competition off to a flying start.
“We need to be careful and work together,” Chama told the club's social media. “We believe we have the ability to reach far in the competition this season.
“This first leg match will decide our destiny, we need a good result to take back to Tanzania, we must win in Nigeria and if we get a good result then we have the confidence to finish the job back in Tanzania.”
On his part, Simba captain John Bocco feels they are ready to put in a fight and get a decent result away from home.
“We know our opponents are ready but we are also going to fight for our team to win and get good results,” said Bocco.
In an earlier interview, Simba coach Sven Vandenbroeck stated the reason he wants his team to remain tight at the back when they take on Plateau United.
“To be honest, we don’t have much information about them [Plateau United], but at the beginning of the match I want us to strengthen our backline, I want it to be solid because in such matches it is not good to concede many goals,” Vandenbroeck told the club’s social media pages.
“We will make sure we remain tight at back and also study their weaknesses and then from there we can see what to do.”
Vandenbroeck received a huge boost with two key players – striker Meddie Kagere and winger Luis Miquissone – making the 24-man squad to Nigeria for the clash that will be played in Abuja.
After the first leg at New Jos Stadium, Plateau United will travel to Dar es Salaam for the return leg which will be staged at Benjamin Mkapa Stadium on the weekend of December 4.
Simba’s fans will be keen to see some improvement, following last year’s unimpressive display after they were knocked out in the preliminary round by UD Songo from Mozambique.
Whereas in the 2018/19 season they managed to reach the quarter-finals, it was in 1974 when Simba managed to get into the semi-finals but were knocked out by Egyptian side Ghazl El Mahalla.