Okereke charges Club Brugge teammates not to get complacent

Club Brugge marksman, David Okereke has opined they believe they are yet to seal the qualification ticket to the group stage of the Uefa Champions League despite holding a 1-0 advantage against LASK of Austria.

Hans Vanaken struck in the 10th minute from the penalty spot at the Linzer Stadion in Vienna to hand all initiatives to the Belgian side but Okereke pointed out that they still need to be circumspect ahead of the return leg in Brugge on Wednesday.

The ex- Spezia of Italy forward said they must complete the job they started in front of their fans at the Jan Breyden Stadion and that they must put aside their 1-0 first leg advantage to ensure that they are not shocked despite the buffer they have from the initial leg in Vienna.

“It’s a great feeling but we stilll have to put our head in the game and keep working because we are not there yet,” Okereke told SportingLife.

“It is still anybody’s game in spite of the first leg result. We must be ready for another 90 minutes of action at home. We must put in more than the first leg effort to secure the group stage ticket.

“Our coach said we should keep our head in the game because its not yet over.”

The attacker praised the decision of the organisers of the Belgian League to put forward their weekend league tie against Sporting Charleroi to enable them prepare for the upcoming Champions League encounter with LASK.

Club Brugge would have faced Charleroi yesterday in their fifth league game of the season which may have had negative impact on their preparation for the key return leg tie against the Austrian team had it held.

Okereke also suggests that it may be too early to dub either his team of a few others as favourites for the Belgian League title with only five games played so far.

“The league is stil long we can’t say one team is the favourite but i feel we should just concentrate on ourselves and forget about what other do,” The Nigerian added.