Sunshine hint at signings for Confed Cup

One of Nigeria campaigners in this year’s edition of the Orange Caf Confederation Cup, Sunshine Stars have said they are considering strengthening their squad ahead of the group stage of the tournament.

Head coach of the club, Gbenga Ogunbote, told SuperSport.com that he could land two or three players to ensure Sunshine Stars look a balanced side for the group stage, which begins on July 15.

Already, Sunshine Stars are drawn in Group A alongside JS Kabylie of Algeria, MAS of Morocco and the winner between Simba of Tanzania and Motema Pembe of DR Congo, who play in a fortnight.

Ogunbote acknowledged that it is a difficult pool that his side have found themselves and hence the need to bring in additional players with quality and experience to play in the continent’s second-tier club competition.

“We are in a group with very good sides as opponents and we cannot afford to take chances because we are ambitious and want to do very well in the Confederation Cup. So we are looking at signing may be two or three players that can help us further at this stage of the competition since we now have the opportunity to do so,” said Ogunbote.

The former Gateway FC manager said he has pencilled down a few names but will hold talks with the club before they make moves to get the players.

“There are a number of players we are looking at the moment. But I cannot just start mentioning names when we have not agreed anything with them or their teams yet. Soon that will be sorted out when I meet with the club management,” Ogunbote told SuperSport.com.

Sunshine Stars grabbed a spot in the last eight of the competition after edging out Al Ittihad of Libya in a one-legged tie at the Gateway International Stadium in Ijebu-Ode on Sunday.

The Nigerian club will play their first game against either the winner of Simba or Motema Pembe on July 17.

2011 ORANGE CAF CONFEDERATION CUP

GROUP A

ASEC (Cote d’Ivoire)

Interclube (Angola)

Club Africain (Tunisia)

Kaduna United (Nigeria)

GROUP B

JS Kabylie (Algeria)

MAS (Morocco)

Sunshine Stars (Nigeria)

Simba (Tanzania)/Motema Pembe (Tanzania)