Tusker head coach Charles Okere has vowed to give rival Kenyan Premier League bigwigs a run for their money as his charges aim their guns on a 14th top-flight silverware this season.
Okere, 42, experienced a dream start to his tenure after steering the Ruaraka-based beermakers to a hard-fought 1-0 win over Sofapaka, upsetting his former boss Robert Matano who shifted allegiance to Sofapaka at the beginning of the season.
He is not quaking in the boots as they heighten preparations ahead of a crunch tie against a well-drilled Kariobangi Sharks side in their next KPL encounter on Saturday.
"We are prepared for the match. We've made good use of the Fifa International break to work a few areas we felt needed urgent attention," he said.
The former Harambee Starlets head coach urged his charges to build on their win and up the momentum as they grope for more crucial points that could help them garnish their trophy cabinet with another top-tier silverware.
“We have a fairly new team and the priority is to make the players gel more as the season progresses. It's encouraging to see how quickly some are adopting to our system,” said Okere.
“We shall heighten our preparations. We want to prepare our players in all aspects, both physically and mentally,” he added.
The Brewers lost 11 players, including key squad members, who significantly contributed to their second-place finish in the preceding season.
They will miss the services of their top striker Eric Kapaito who missed the Golden Boot gong by a whisker after running out of steam to surrender the accolade to Gor Mahia's blue-eyed boy Benson Omalla.
Other outstanding players who severed ties include Dan Sakari who crossed over to Kenya Police and Tanzanian goalpoacher Ibrahim Joshua who left at the end of his contract.
However, Okere said they rummaged through the transfer market and plunged vast resources for quality replacements.
“We have enough personnel to get the job done this season. The players who left did a marvelous job but we must now live with the reality they will not be around anymore," Okere said.
He predicted a vicious battle, noting that it would be a big mistake to underrate any of the 18 sides battling for honours on the cutthroat topflight stage.
"All the sides are equal to the task. We can't afford to write anyone off. We would be doing so at our peril," he said.
"We saw how well Mara Sugar performed in their maiden match. That attests to the competitive nature of the league," he said.
