Leemisa Thuseho
LIOLi hit man Bin Swithbert Kum has struggled to replicate his exceptional scoring form which saw him register 12 league goals in his first season at Tse Nala.
Although Lioli endured its worst season in the top flight last year finishing seventh, Kum enjoyed a splendid individual season and was even named among the top strikers in the league.
The Cameroonian told the Lesotho Times this week that he made a slow start to the 2019/20 Econet Premier League but believes that it is not too late for him to find his form again. Football is dynamic, he said, and he will just keep working hard.
“I think football has its high and lows; sometimes you are lucky and sometimes you are not,” Kum said adding: “maybe this is just one of those periods of difficult periods”.
“I am not moved. Instead, I will continue working hard and when the league resumes, I surely must reignite my goal scoring form to help the team gain a spot in the top four so that it is eligible for all available competitions that we missed out on this season.”
Lioli has blown hot and cold this season and Kum has scored just five and the striker is worried that he may fail to surpass his 12-goal target.
“Of course, when you set a standard, you always want to go beyond that and that was my wish too. However, its unfortunate that things haven’t gone according to plan.”
Being one of the few expatriates in the domestic league, Kum concedes he has some pressure to be among the best in his side.
“I can’t fly all the way here and play an ordinary game. I am hired because of my extra-ordinary exploits, so I must maintain that.
“I learn a lot from the local players and they also benefit from associating with me, we are constantly helping each other and that’s football.”
Kum’s one-year contract with Lioli end at the of this season and he said his future will be discussed later.
“I can talk about my next destination now as footballers are always on the move depending on the opportunities that arise, so for now, I can’t tell. I just want to finish my season then will know what’s next,” he said.
Lioli are fifth on the log standings and Kum said they were finding their feet before the Coronavirus-induced lockdown last months. He hopes the break helps them return stronger.
The Teya-Teyaneng giants were dumped by coach Thabile Secker after just seven matches. At the time they were eighth in the league when assistant coach Soai Mosola took over temporarily before the return of Morena Ramoreboli.
Kum said the changing of coaches within a short period contributed to the team’s struggles.
“Changing of coaches in such a short time has cost us considering every coach has a different philosophy for players to adapt to in the shortest possible time,” Kum said.
