Blue Boys determined to stay up

WINDHOEK-HECTOR MAWONGA Swakopmund-based football club, Blue Boys, who recently sealed their promotion to the Namibia Premier League (NPL), are adamant this time they will keep their place in the Premiership. The team competed in the NPL during the 2010/2011 season, but were relegated at the end of that campaign. Now, though, they have learnt from the mistakes they made the first time around, says Blue Boys' team manager, Victor Shangete. "This time we are well prepared because [the last time] we were in the NPL it was the first time... And now I do believe we are here to stay," he told a local radio station. In fact, Shangete is confident that far from just making up the numbers in the NPL next season, his team is ready to mix it up with the big boys. "We are not here just to survive; we are here to compete," he said. Last season, teams from the coast, like Eleven Arrows and Blue Waters, struggled in the NPL, with both sides just narrowly escaping relegation. With Blue Boys adding to the number of teams from the coast, does Shangete see his team struggling next season? "No, not at all... We have a strategic place with a Plan A and Plan B and we do believe we will even overcome our rivals," he said. Most teams promoted from the first division find the going tough, if they do not bring in reinforcements for their campaign. However, this is an option Shangete dismisses. "We are not actually thinking of buying new players, because we have experienced players that came from clubs like Blue Waters and Tigers and so forth. We used those players in the first division and they are the ones that made it possible for the team to go back [to the NPL]," he explained. Coaching cloud Meanwhile, a cloud is gathering over whether the team will be allowed to use former Brave Warriors defender, George Hummel, as coach. According to reports, the NPL will next season require coaches to at least have a CAF A-coaching license - something that Hummel currently does not have. "We are in the process of empowering him [Hummel] but he will be our coach although he doesn't have a licence," Shangete said defiantly. Regardless of who eventually takes the coaching reigns at the club, though, Blue Boys must ensure they hit the ground running if they are to avoid a quick exit from the elite league.