The law enforcers punched their ticket to represent the East African nation in the Champions League after ending the dominance of regulars and Kenyan record champions Gor Mahia, lifting their first-ever Premier League title last season.
Police will begin their campaign with a first preliminary round away fixture against Mogadishu City Stars on Saturday, September 20th, at Nyayo Stadium, Nairobi, with the return leg scheduled for the same venue on Sunday, September 28th, where they'll be the home team.
Ndayiragije praises CECAFA tourney
Police coach Etienne Ndayiragije has discussed why the gains from the recently concluded CECAFA Kagame Cup in Tanzania will be a huge boost for his side as they prepare for a positive start in the first leg battle.
Ironically, both Police and City Stars participated in the tournament. The Kenyan champions played against Garde-côtes FC from Djibouti, winning 4-0 in the opener, but suffered a 2-1 defeat against eventual winners Singida Black Stars before winning their final game 2-0 against Ethiopia Coffee.
On the other hand, Mogadishu City Stars started with a 1-1 draw against Sudanese champions Al Hilal, drew 0-0 against Kator FC from South Sudan, before registering a 2-1 victory against Al-Ahli Wad Medani of Sudan, but, just like Police, it was not enough to see them through to the quarter-finals stage.
“We had a very good pre-season tournament in Tanzania where we played in the CECAFA Kagame Cup, it gave us the test of what we need to anticipate heading into the new season, especially our CAF Champions League campaign and defending the league title,” Ndayiragije told Flashscore.
“The tournament (CECAFA) helped me to have a close look and analyse the characters of the players, and our readiness to compete at the top level. It helped me to see all that I wanted to observe from my team.
"The tournament helped us to reach some top levels, and I am confident it will carry us in the upcoming matches, starting with the CAF assignment.”
He added: “The squad is now fine. At first you know we had to get new signings to beef up the squad, we signed in the areas I wanted to make strong, and most of them made the trip to Tanzania. I have seen them, I have seen what they can offer, but even after coming back from Tanzania, we have been working together, but I want to say they have shown me positive signs.
“The players have continued to work together, to know each other, to gel together and build what we want here at Police. Remember, at the end of the day, Police pays our bills, so we must make sure the squad is prepared and good to go, we have reached our targets, and hopefully they can show what we have been preparing in the upcoming assignments.”
Ndayiragije ready for better CAF outing
Last season, Police participated in the Confederation Cup by virtue of winning the FKF domestic Cup following their 8-7 penalty shootout victory against KCB, but they failed to go past the second round of the CAF tournament.
After advancing from the first round following a 1-0 aggregate win against Ethiopian Coffee, they were drawn against defending champions Zamalek, who ousted them in the second preliminary round following a 3-1 aggregate defeat.
Asked about his target for the Champions League, and whether he understands anything in regards to their first preliminary round opponents from Somalia, Ndayiragije posed before replying: “While at CECAFA, we had the opportunity to watch them (Mogadishu) closely, they had a good campaign even though they didn’t win the trophy, just like us, so it is a team we understand very well.
“We have a lot of respect for them, we saw what they can do, we can’t head into the first game underrating them, I have already cautioned my players against such belief.
"A lot about them I can’t talk about here now, we can only use it against them during the game, but the good part is that we have built ourselves to a good high level, and I am confident we will do well against them.”
He added: “It is true that last season we took part in the Confederation Cup, though the campaign was not good enough. This season we want to start strongly, we have good experience already in the squad, and what we want to achieve is a better position than we did in the previous campaign.”
On whether he has any injury concerns heading into the match, he said: “For now, we don’t have any injury problems, all the players are fit and available, so I believe we have everyone fit and ready to go and fight for a positive result in the first round test.
“Our policy here at Police is we don't talk much, we do our talking on the pitch, so the fans should be calm and wait to see what we can achieve at the end of the season.”
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