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By Amaechi Agbo

Coach of Nigeria Nationwide League One, NLO side, FWC FC, Bartholomew David has disclosed that the target of the team in the 2019/2020 season is to lift the trophy and play in the Nigeria National League, NNL.

Bartholomew who spoke with Best Choice Sports after the team defeated their opponents Niger Tornadoes Feeders at the end of the 2018/19 season on Saturday commended the players, coaching crew and management for their support.

Coach Barthlomew who guided the team out of relegation on the matchday 10 of the league attributed the survival to the players’ belief in his philosophy and said that ahead of the new season, the team will use the preseason window to work on the lapses which they managed in the three matches he oversaw after he was engaged by the club in July.

You played just 3 matches with massive results. What did you notice was the problem of the team on resumption?

One thing that gave me an edge upon resumption was the fact that I followed the team’s matches. I watched three or four of their matches before resumption and I knew the key areas which bothers on lack of goal scoring and confidence. There was also the loss of concentration at the dying minute of matches. So when I resumed, I worked on those areas and that was why in our first game we scored as many as four gaols. In the second game away to Supreme Court FC, it was a 2-2 draw. Then our last game on Saturday against Niger Tornadoes Feeders we scored three goals.

Prior to the match, during our training on Friday, we worked on the drilling and goal scoring and we had the benefits on Saturday.

What are the Plans for the preseason?

We are concentrating on three areas where we know we have challenges in the preseason. Then we gear up towards gaining promotion. With the players we have now and the team spirit, God willing, we will not remain in NLO next season.

Can you guarantee your fans of NNL football 2020/21 season?  

By the special grace of God, we will get to that next season. We have our fans who are also there for us and the players who have the never-say-die attitude in them. The support of the management has been massive and the only way for us to reciprocate this gesture is by performance and our performance will be measured by winning the NLO and playing in NNL in 2020/21 season.

I want to believe that with good preparation and the quality of the players we have, we will get there.

Surviving relegation on the last day, would you say it’s an achievement accomplished?

For sure. When I came in with three matches to go, we were praying to God wondering what would happen because we were at the bottom. I worked on them and in our first game we won 4-2 at home and the huge match that pulled us off the relegation waters was our away match with Supreme FC which we drew 2-2. Then, we needed to wrap it up in our last match at home and we did that with a convincing 3-0 win. So it is a milestone.