Tailevu Naitasiri coach Tagi Vonolagi says fitness of players is something he is worried about and working on ahead of the 2023 Digicel Fiji FACT which will kick start next week.
Vonolagi said players who are attending the daily training will be part of his starting 11 and those who fail to train will not be considered in the team.
“The turnout of players at training is also a major concern because the young players are coming in but the senior players have commitments.”
“Right now the main issue is that players do not have fitness in them because it’s been three weeks we haven’t played any games.”
“My message to the boys is simple: if you train you get the game and if you don’t then you’ll miss out on your selection in the team.”
Naitasiri is drawn in Group B with underdogs Nadi, Digicel Premier League leaders Rewa and Battle of the Giants champions Labasa.
“During the training, I could see that fatigue has kicked in and players feel tired after 60 minutes of sessions so we don’t want to take that into the FACT because we are in a tough pool.”
“We don’t want to be there just to make numbers, instead give a better performance from where we finished last year. Our aim is to reach the semi-final which will be tough if we don’t have the fitness in us. We are extending our training and we are trying to put players on diet control to get them to their form.”
Naitasiri will face Nadi in the opening match at 1.30pm at the HFC Bank Stadium next Friday.
