Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) leaders Remo Stars will face relegation-threatened Niger Tornadoes in Ikenne on Sunday (today), as they hope to grab the needed three points to seal their first-ever NPFL title win.
Remo Stars head into the match-day 35 encounter with a boost on their title charge after second-placed team Rivers United stumbled in their chase on Friday, losing 2-0 against Kano Pillars to leave seven points between them and the leaders.
The Sky Blue Stars are now just a win within reach of the title that has eluded them in the last two seasons, but they also realise that the job won’t be done until it’s done.
Ahead of the title decider, PUNCH Sports Extra asked Remo Stars coach, Daniel Ogunmodede, if he could feel the title in sight, but the gaffer insists there is still a little more to be done, stressing there is no pressure.
‘I am not feeling anything’, Ogunmodede told PUNCH Sports Extra.
‘We won’t be declared champions until we are champions and our opponents are in a difficult situation as well. So we can’t afford to be carried away’, the coach said.
The Sky Blue Stars also have two defenders who have won the NPFL title before in their ranks (Fabian Nworie and Ifeanyi Anaemena – both with Rivers United) and they reechoed the coach’s sentiments.
‘All of us should remain focused till the end of the season’, Nworie said in a quote relayed by the club.
‘In this period, we must give our 100 per cent in every game’, Anaemena added.
Meanwhile, Remo Stars opponents today, Tornadoes, are currently 14th in the table with 44 points, just two points above the relegation zone.
A defeat for them will confirm Remo Stars as champions but it puts the visitors in a difficult situation as the teams below them are likely to topple them with three games left to play against high-flying Abia Warriors, fellow strugglers Sunshine Stars and Kano Pillars.
If Remo claimed all three points, they would open up an unassailable 10-point lead with just nine points left to play for.
Anything short of a victory for Remo Stars will revive Rivers United’s title hopes.
A draw will put them eight points above the Port Harcourt side with nine points still to play for in the remaining three games while a defeat, the most unlikely outcome, will leave the gap at seven points.
