Vihiga keep the faith despite shaky start

Kenya Premier League side Vihiga United are optimistic of claiming a top eight finish despite an awful start  to the 2018/19 season.

The Vihiga County based club has had the highest number of drawn matches at five, alongside Kariobangi Sharks and Sofapaka, while losing two and winning just once.

This run has left them at position 13, sitting just above five teams in the 18-team league.

But despite this shaky start, club chairman Kahi Indimuli maintains their season target is securing a top eight finish.This will be an improvement on the 12^th slot they earned last term in their debut season in the top flight.

“Our target last year was to remain in the league which we achieved and we have now set another target which is to be among the top eight; but if we continue registering many draws we may end up missing the target,” explained Indimuli.

He went on:  “We want to avoid fighting relegation battle at all cost; we want to avoid mistakes of last season. We will talk to the players and the technical bench to highlight the weaknesses we have seen so that we can improve as a team.”

Also cited for the poor performance is the late disbursement of salaries and bonuses by the team’s sponsor, Vihiga County Government.

According to Indimuli, the county government has paid the November and December salaries but are yet to pay winning bonuses.

“Players need to go to a match when they are psychologically prepared, but when they have issues to do with salaries and winning bonuses  it greatly affect their performance,” he said. “When players win they always expect to be given their winning bonuses. Good preparation always results to good performances.”