Nasinu is undergoing major changes under the guidance of new coach Tagi Vonolagi, who is facing the challenge of building a cohesive squad with limited player attendance at training sessions.
In his debut game, Nasinu settled to a 3-1 defeat against Rewa, with Vonolagi confronting the reality of having only six players consistently attending training sessions.
“I have only six players left with me, whole week only 6 to 7 players show up for training, mostly I get the youth players just to make up the numbers for training,” he told FijiLive.
This shortfall forced him to incorporate youth players against an experienced Rewa side.
“I fielded in 4 or 5 first timers against Rewa, one of the backs was only 16 years old. Majority of the Nasinu boys are 16 and 17 years of age.”
This issue stems from a regional club president’s influence, who previously directed Nasinu’s team and pushed for his club players to receive more game time.
“He has had so much influence in the team that he wants his boys to have game time but when he was asked to step aside and let the coaching panel decide on the players, he influenced his club boys not to come and train.”
Despite these challenges, Vonolagi is focusing on the young talents within the team.
“We’ll just move on from these players and focus on our young boys… these young boys lack experience, so we’ll work on that, train hard and focus on the next game,” he concluded.
