IT is not all so rosy in the Lautoka camp as the side departed for the group stage of the Oceania Football Confederation Champions League in Vanuatu yesterday.
Lack of discipline has once again reared its ugly head with revelations that a few players went on a drinking spree until the early hours of Monday morning following the Blues walloping 6-0 of neighbour Nadi in the Vodafone Premier League at Churchill Park on Sunday afternoon.
This was Lautoka’s second big win in as many matches in the VPL having thrashed Nasinu by the same margin in the opening round.
The overnight incident prompted the Lautoka Football Association to hold a special meeting with the players after training at Churchill Park on Monday followed by an emergency executive meeting.
The incident left the LFA in a ‘catch 22’ situation with heavy fines and possible lengthy suspension in case of a last minute withdrawal, financial burden with changes to player registrations and also changes to flight tickets which had already been paid for with the opening match to be played this Saturday.
LFA president Shalendra Prasad revealed that there were some issues within the executives that needed to be sorted out.
Prasad said it was disappointing to note that this was happening as the team was on a high heading into the OFC Champions League. He reminded the players of their loyalty to the Blue jersey.
“Like Fiji 7s coach Gareth Baber stated upon the arrival from the Sydney 7s that victory is not achieved through one person but it is through team work,” Prasad said.
“The players have to do their part on the field, the coaching staff do their job during training and the management team and the executives provide the resources for the process to achieve the main aim. “Victory can only be achieved if everyone plays their role and it becomes team work at the end. We as individuals will go away but LFA will continue to run.”
During the emergency meeting the LFA executive decided to let the team proceed to the competition with all issues to be sorted out upon the team’s return in a bid not to destabilize their campaign in the group stage.
Prasad thanked Abdul Shamim of Classic Printery Vanuatu Limited for totally sponsoring the Lautoka team during their stay on the island of Santos.
Lautoka will face Malampa Revivors on February 15 at the Luganville Stadium.
The Sugar City side will play Lae City on February 18 and the final group stage match will against Henderson Eels on February 21.
