.Beaumelle

By GRACE CHAILE –
ZAMBIA coach, Patrice Beaumelle believes Nkana has what it takes to redeem itself in the CAF Confederation Cup after crashing out of   the Champions League last Sunday.
Beaumelle said he was confident of a better performance from the Zambian envoys in Africa’s second tier club competition, starting with the pre-group stage engagement against Tunisia’s Club Athletique Bizertin on April 19.
In an interview yesterday at Barclays Sports Complex in Lusaka after the locally-assembled Chipolopolo squad broke camp, Beaumelle said Nkana had capable players who can deliver positive results in the Confederation Cup.
He said with an extra effort, Nkana were capable of going far in the competition where the winners would receive US$625,000 (about K4 million).
“I am sure of Nkana executing their job right because they have capable players that I have seen play in the national team.  They just have to put in extra effort and will indeed go further than the play-off stage. I have confidence in them and wish them the best,” he said.
He advised the team to learn from the 5-0 loss against Zamalek of Egypt in the Champions League and improve in the Confederation Cup.
“When Nkana was drawn against the African giants,  Zamalek, I knew it was a difficult mission for them.
But Nkana should put it in mind that if you do not score at home, then you have the obligation to score away. It would have been better for them to compete in the CAF Champions  League  but that’s how football is.
Learn from the mistakes and perform better in the Confederation  Cup,” he  said.
Beaumelle appealed to the players to use the opportunity to play in the Confederation Cup to gain confidence and improve their skills in the local league.
And Beaumelle said Zesco United were not too far from reaching the next stage of the Confederation Cup when they were knocked out by Ghana’s Medeama.
He said Zesco players needed to gain some maturity if they were to go far next time in continental competitions.
“I believe the team needs more maturity if they have to go further next time in continental competitions. But we should understand that continental football has the best teams and it’s not an easy job to qualify to the next stage,” he said.
Meanwhile, the senior team ended routine monthly camp yesterday morning in a jovial mood as they beat K-Stars Football Club 4-0 in a friendly match.
Beaumelle expressed happiness with the new players that were called to camp and advised them to remain confident and focused to grab a place in the national team.
“I am happy with the new players’ level of performance, some of them come as far as Chipata and it’s their first time. My appeal to the players is to remain confident and concentrate as it’s the only magic of reaching world class level. For instance, Nathan Sinkala and Chisamba Lungu joined the team like them and never left,” he said.