Ellis demands hunger, setting sights on win over Burkinabe

Ahead of the clash against Burkinabe on Thursday, Banyana Banyana coach Desiree Ellis demands hunger and wants a win.

The seasoned Banyana coach, Ellis says a win is very important for their CAF WAFCON qualification ambitions against Burkina Faso.

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As the reigning African champions, Banyana meet their West African counterparts, Burkinabe on Thursday evening at Charles Konan Banny Stadium in Cote d’Ivoire.

Speaking before the crucial CAF WAFCON qualifier, Ellis says she is happy to have a clean bill of health when it comes to her Banyana troops.

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ELLIS DEMANDS HUNGER, SETS SIGHTS ON WIN OVER BURKINABE

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The defending WAFCON champions are expected to beat Burkinabe in a two-legged qualifier to book their place in the tournament in Morocco next year.

“I can thankfully say, ‘I have a clean bill of health. Everybody participated in training and everyone has arrived,” Ellis said per Sowetan.

“The overseas-based players arrived on Monday and we had a rest day because of the travelling.

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“We have to manage a lot of players who have played 90 minutes over the last three weeks and we have to keep them fresh.

“Our first session went very well, just a little bit of loosening at the beginning and getting to feel the ball.

“Little bit of a tactical session towards the end because we only have two days and we did a little bit of possessional analysis and we can go into what we want to do.”

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ELLIS WANTS BANYANA AT THEIR BEST AGAINST BURKINABE

In addition, the Banyana legend adds that his team must be at their best as she knows the importance of winning the first leg away to go into the return leg without pressure.

“The enthusiasm is there and the willingness to want to do well is there like we always know,” adds Ellis.

“When you travel around the continent, there are a lot of challenges and I think a lot of our players are experienced enough to understand that and adapt quickly.

“But I’m very happy with the field, good conditions, so we had a good session.

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“Before we left, we knew what was going to happen logistically and that’s why we stayed over, waiting for the overseas-based players to have a session and then travel.

“If we had travelled, we would not be ready for the session to fine-tune all the details. There are still a few things that we want to work on.

“We tried to keep the sessions as short as possible to keep the players as fresh as possible for the game.”

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Meanwhile, Banyana will host their counterparts in a return leg at Lucas Moripe Stadium on Monday.