Mikia Kalati
KICK4LIFE coach Leslie Notši says his side will have to dig deep to maintain the standards of the previous season after losing three key players during the off-season.
The club has lost Thabiso Brown, Morapeli Lesoetsa and Thapelo Tale who scored 31 goals among them during the 2016/17 season.
Brown is in Bolivia where he is expected to play in the new season while Lesoetsa is in the United States of America to pursue his academic studies and football career after being handed a scholarship by the club.
Tale is still club less after declining an offer from Kick4Life who revived his career in the second round of last season.
Notši this week told the Lesotho Times that while he was happy with their pre-season, it would be hard to maintain the same standards that saw Kick4Life securing a top finish for the first time.
“We made good use of the eight weeks we had to prepare for the new campaign and it looks like we are going to have another week as the new season has been postponed,” Notši said.
“Everything went as planned although losing three key players has left a big void in the team.
“The trio proved themselves last season and would have given us an edge if they were still with us but we have to accept that they have gone for greener pastures.
“Tale declined the offer that we made him and we respect his wish even though we would have loved to have him in the team.”
He said they brought in quality replacements including Bonang Mohapi who signed from Sky Battalion.
“We have brought in new players who come with a wealth of experience and looked to have settled into our style of play.
“We have a two more players that have been training with us and we are still negotiating with their clubs for their services.
“I would say we are now in a transition period because of the changes that we have had in our squad.
He also welcomed the return of Nkoto Masoabi who was out injured for the better part of last season.
Kick4Life’s reigning Player of the Year, Bokang ‘Lefty’ Mothoana, is still nursing an injury sustained on national duty.
The Likuena skipper missed the regional COSAFA Cup in June as well as the two-legged qualifiers against Comoros last month.
“Lefty is still out and is going through rehabilitation.
“We are doing the best that we can to support him and national team coach, Ntate Moses Maliehe, has also been supportive.
“We know he is disappointed to be out because he is a passionate player but the support system that he has will help him recover quickly,” Notši said.
