Following a nil all draw away to Wikki Tourists, Erasmus Onuh, the Coach of Heartland was emphatic in asserting that the club has recorded tremendous improvement over the course of the season and is on course to avoid relegation.
Heartland followed up an impressive 1-0 win against title contenders, Plateau United with the draw in Kaduna on Matchday 25 against Wikki Tourists and was clearly the better side.
Still mired in the relegation zone, the Owerri side had two great chances to score but could not make it happen, while the Kaura Boys could not muster a shot on goal even when Olawale Tolulope had an empty goal at his mercy inside the box. He skied his shot missing Wikki’s best chance to win the game.
Speaking after the match, Onuh , who bagged yellow card just before the match for dissent, said the attitude of the Owerri side has changed and their tactics is based on possessive football and being ready to die for the team.
“My team has improved tremendously; there is a big improvement from the way we used to play, that is why I did not make many changes. The few changes I made were not because someone was not doing well, but for tactical reasons.
“We will escape relegation. We are on course. It is work in progress and we would see what we can do as the season progresses. It is a difficult job to do, but we would do it. The people who gave me the job trusted me and I want to do my best not to betray that trust.
“There is a new mindset in our team, the game plan from me is that the team should possess the ball and get ready to die, we should play like soldiers, defend the team with our body, mind, everything. We want to leave that place (relegation zone) and we would do that by going for victory in our next match against Abia Warriors,” the gaffer said.