Careful McKinstry set for Uganda’s Afcon run

After the Ethiopia dress rehearsal that yielded a winning start for new Uganda coach Johnny McKinstry on October 11, it now gets to the business phase for the Northern Irishman as the Cranes embark on the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualification.
McKinstry’s very first assignment comes up against seasoned campaigners in Burkina Faso and the Malawi Flames in back-to-back action in November.
And he seems to have done some thorough homework on his next opponents. He unveiled part of his grand plans to return Uganda to the third successive Afcon finals at Fufa House in Mengo yesterday.

Tough opponents
“We have the most difficult game to begin with; travelling to Ouagadougou,” said McKinstry. Uganda open against Burkina Faso on November 13.
“These (Burkina Faso and Malawi) are two teams with good home record. Burkina Faso, although they missed out on Afcon last time, have the best home record having lost once in 12 matches since 2012,” he revealed.
Uganda lost on both their last two visits to Burkina Faso. McKinstry added; “We cannot take Malawi lightly, they have not done as expected recently but have nothing to lose, they will come looking for a scalp because their last visit here was a draw at Namboole.

Confident
“We are confident we will be in good shape to kick off the campaign in three weeks’ time.”
The first home match against Malawi comes on November 17, exactly 366 days since Patrick Kaddu scored the lone goal against Cape Verde at Namboole that guaranteed the return to Afcon.
Fufa have chattered the Uganda Airlines Bombardier to take the team to Ouagadougou and back in time for the second match.
“Getting a chartered plane will be a great assistance but that doesn’t guarantee success,” McKinstry stressed.
He promised to give local based players a chance when he summons his squad next Wednesday and insisted his target is getting nine points at home and three away to make 12, the precautionary points to progress to Cameroon 2021.
“We will support the coach because we have a lot of trust in McKinstry to take us to Cameroon,” Fufa acting president Justus Mugisha told Daily Monitor. Mugisha also hinted at McKinstry’s full technical team being announced next Wednesday, which will keep hitherto interim Cranes coaches Abdallah Mubiru and Livingstone Mbabazi.

AFRICA CUP OF NATIONS
Cameroon 2021 Qualifiers
November 13, Ouagadougou
Burkina Faso vs. Uganda, 10pm
November 17, Namboole
Uganda vs. Malawi, 4pm
Entry Fees:
Shs20,000 (ordinary), Shs50,000
(VIP) and Shs120,00 (VVIP)