Rivers Utd step up preparations to shine next season

Nigeria Professional Football League club, Rivers United have entered the third phase of their pre-season exercise ahead of the commencement of the 2016/17 football season.

The first phase commenced in Port Harcourt on November 1 with the ‘Pride of Rivers’ playing a handful of test matches against local sides while the coaches concentrated on bringing the players up to speed from a physical perspective.

On Sunday, November 20, United kicked off their second phase of pre-season in Abuja with priority put on physical work with technical manager, Stanley Eguma gradually introducing his philosophy to the new arrivals.

The club was involved in four test games in Abuja, against City Strikers (4-1), Abuja Selected FC (2-0), Abuja Football College (2-1) and Adala Football Academy (4-0) winning all, scoring 12 and conceding two goals.

Next up for the Port Harcourt club is the 2016 Shehu Dikko Annual Football tournament in Kaduna.

The tournament runs from November 30-December 5 with matches slated to hold at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium, Kaduna.

Wikki Tourists FC, FC Ifeanyiubah, Niger Tornadoes and Katsina United are four other NPFL clubs expected to take part in the pre-season tournament in Kaduna.

Eguma says the tournament in Kaduna will help him ascertain the level his charges have reached after a month a pre-season as well as sharpen their competitive edge ahead of the start of the new season.

“We have not really gotten there (to our desired level) but I am very impressed with the way the boys have responded to our methods.

“I hope they continue on this path but I must state here that we cannot draw any conclusions on anything at this stage of the season.

“I however know that we have very good crop of players and I hope we can create a good team out of what we have,” Eguma told the club’s official media

Rivers United will represent Nigeria in the 2017 Caf Champions League.