6th March, 2013
3SC defender, Mutiu Adegoke, believes his club have what it takes to qualify for either the CAF Champions League or the Confederation Cup.
The Ibadan giants did not make much of an impression in the premier league last season and got knocked out in the Round of 60 of the Federation Cup by minnows Fame Academy.
Although winning the premiership could be a long shot, the former Super Eagles wing-back told supersport.com that he has been impressed with their preparations, and that they aim to be out there with the pacesetters from the word go.
“We weren’t well placed when I joined the team last season, but we were able to claw our way back to finish in a respectable position,” Adegoke said.
“Having been able to achieve that, I feel we are now capable of finishing in the top four considering the quality of the new players we brought in.
“The new boys have done well, and I’ve been particularly impressed with the form of Gbolahan Salami and Sunday Abubakar in attack.
“There is intense competition for places and I’m confident we have got a side that could take points anywhere in the premier league.
“The difference between last season and this one is that we are well prepared from the start, and instead of constantly battling to improve our position, we aim to be among the top teams from start to finish.
“We were able to keep the nucleus of the side and add wisely so we will have a great chance of doing better.
“I’m not promising any trophy, but I’ll be disappointed if we don’t finish high enough in either of the domestic competitions to make it to Africa.”
On their upcoming premier league tie against Gombe United, he told supersport.com: “We are obviously going for the three points, but we know Gombe have always been dangerous opponents and we won’t underrate them.
“We want to be as high as we can in the league, and we can’t do that by dropping points unnecessarily at home.”