Tusker FC coach Julien Mette has declared that his footballing philosophy is rapidly shaping up at the club following a 2-1 victory over Kariobangi Sharks on Monday afternoon at the Police Sacco Grounds.
In a post-match interview, the Frenchman expressed pleasant surprise at how quickly the players have adapted to his tactical demands, estimating that the team is now operating at 90% of his desired system.
“As I said, I’m positively surprised. Even at the first game, the philosophy was here like 60%, and now we are close to 90%.
So I’m really impressed by the quality of learning and the intelligence of the players.
I’m really surprised positively,they are good players. When I watched some games before I came, I saw that technically the potential was there but they needed more confidence and also they needed to play with rules and principle. So that’s what we do now, and I have absolutely nothing to say when we have the ball.”
ALSO READ: Tusker FC edge Kariobangi Sharks to seal back-to-back wins under Mette
Tusker FC coach Julien Mette says his philosophy is taking shape
The coach also addressed his decision to make three changes to the starting lineup, including the deployment of two forwards, Ibrahim Joshua and Eric Kapaito.
Rejecting the cliché of never changing a winning team, Mette argued that rotation prevents laziness and keeps the squad competitive
“We usually say never change a team who won, But I totally disagree because if you don’t change a team when it wins, there’s some comfort for the players and they start to become lazy. So first, I want to challenge them. I want every player to think that it’s not because I did the last good game that I will be on the starting lineup. I also need to have a good mindset to work hard and understand the principle with training.”
Mette who started with Iguma and Adikiny in midfield says this was to minimize the fatigue levels.
“Also ,the other explanation is because we have an injury, Stephen Etyang’ is injured in the midfield, Fabian played the two last games with Erambo and it was two games very close. That’s the third game in 10 days, so that’s a lot when you play as a midfield, a lot of distance to cover. So I need also to do a good rotation because we have three very good midfield with Erambo, Iguma, and Fabian. So basically, that’s the reason.”
Reflecting on his first three weeks in Kenya, Mette praised the quality of the natural grass pitches, comparing them favorably to the artificial surfaces he encountered in his previous stints in Djibouti, Congo, and Rwanda.
“I haven’t seen enough games to judge. Just, I have my tactical assistants who provide me analysis from the next opponent, but that’s it. I have a lot of work with my team because, as you know, the team was really sick mentally, and that’s the worst. If you do a mistake technically, then you work; if you are not fit, then you work; but mentally, that’s horrible to train and to give confidence to the team.
But what I can say is I’m happy from the infrastructure, quality of the surface. For example, here,in the past, I was in Djibouti, artificial grass; Congo, artificial grass; Rwanda, even if the weather is beautiful, artificial grass. So I’m happy to see good pitch, natural grass, and guys working on it like Kenya, because this is football. Artificial grass is not football. So that’s my answer for now.”
Julien Mette’s tenure at Tusker FC began with a 1-0 debut loss against Shabana at Gusii Stadium. However, the French tactician quickly turned things around, securing back-to-back victories in his subsequent fixtures against Murang’a Seal and Kariobangi Sharks.
The former Rayon Sports coach who has already admitted that the team can’t win the league has now set his sights on the FKF Cup with the round of 32 set for Friday where they’ll face Bidco United.