Paul Put is now a household name in The Gambia. His fame in the country, in less than a year of his tenure as Gambia’s coach, is rested on a good record with the Scorpions.

The 52-year-old Belgian was, in May 2008, hired by The Gambia Football Association, amidst a heated debate, to take charge of The Gambia Scorpions a few weeks prior to the start of their quest for a place in the 2010 World Cup and African Nations Cup finals in South Africa and Angola respectively.

Shortly after signing The Gambia deal, pessimists hinted that his hiring would not have any positive impact on  Gambia’s performance simply because he had less than enough time to prepare the team.

The European proved the sceptics wrong when he started with a 1-1 away draw against Liberia on June 1, followed by a goalless draw against the highly-rated Senegal side in Banjul one week later.

The Belgian earned his first three points in charge of the Scorpions when he beat the fancy Algerian side 2-1 in Banjul, but this was quickly followed by his first defeat just one week later against the same side in Algiers.

However, Paul Put, who had coached a number of top European clubs including Belgium’s SK Lierse, Lokeren and St. Nicolas, surprisingly woke up from the maiden defeat, and successfully guided The Gambia to a 3-0 thumping of Liberia in Banjul. This overwhelming result saw The Gambia leap-frog arch rivals Senegal into second place in Group Six table with eight points.

It is the first time the Gambia Scorpions have bagged eight points in a World Cup and Nations Cup qualifiers. The Gambia will travel to Dakar this weekend needing to avoid a defeat to stand a chance of progressing to the next stage of the qualifiers.

With less than a week to the make-or-break match, which will also mark the end of the first round of the joint qualifiers, Observer Sports’ anchorman, Nanama Keita, went to meet the seasoned European at the Sheraton Hotel to ask him about his state of preparedness, among other issues.

Excerpt: In less than one week, The Gambia will take on Senegal in a decisive fixture that will decide The Gambia’s fate in the 2010 World Cup and Nations Cup qualifiers. What is your team’s state of preparedness ahead of this match?

We have two types of preparations - One is physical preparation and the other is phycological preparation, where you have to be in contact with your players. Since most of them are playing overseas, I have to communicate with them via e-mail and telephone.

So I have been contacting my players and the reactions from them is that they believe in themselves, that they will do all they can to get here on time for the game.

Some will start arriving on Sunday, while others will be coming on Monday and Tuesday.

You said you are in touch with your players, is there any injury worry?

Already I know that Pa Saikou Kujabi will not be able to come because he has contracted malaria. But I only knew of it a few days ago when we contacted him for the game. For others, they still have some games to play for their clubs so you can’t tell. I can only have a better view of the players when I have them on the training ground.

Is Pa Saikou’s absence a blow to your preparation?

He is an experienced player who has great speed and power. He is also a left footer and we don’t have many left footers. But I am sure that the one who will replace him will do better.

Senegal have named a squad that includes some experienced players like Khalilou Fadiga. Is this a threat to you?

I know Fadiga from Belgium. He is a fantastic player and like I always say, Senegal have a lot of players who play in top European clubs. But mark you, The Gambia too have a good team with lots of youngsters who are hungry for success.

History has it that The Gambia hardly beat Senegal at senior level, more so when the two sides are to play on Senegal’s soil. So do you think your squad has the strength to break this jinx?

Already The Gambia have eight points and this has never happened before. So this means  something. The most important thing is that we have been building a foundation and it has to continue. The players know that this is very important game not for only The Gambia but also for their future. So I am counting on them to deliver the desired result.

Every Gambian would love to see the Scorpions win the match, yet the unexpected can happen, where the Scorpions can also lose. What will be your reaction if Gambia lose in Dakar?

You can’t say before the game. You can play a very good game and lose. We lost against Algeria but I came home with my head high up simply because we had a good game. We have to wait, but honestly if we should lose, that does not mean the end of the road. We have time to keep something for the future and now we have to continue to work for the future.

The Gambia have a great future and what we have been doing within this short period, to me, is a miracle.

Will you still like to work with the Gambian team even if we don’t achieve the World Cup dream?

I always show to the people that I am proud to be the coach of The Gambia National team. I would be more than willing to continue with this team because it’s a team with a bright future. The reactions from the players since I took over has been positive and this means a lot me. The Football Association is also very supportive of me and the people are also hospitable. So I have always felt at home since the first day I came into the country.

However, I know that my work is not finish yet. I will only be happy if I accomplish my work - and that is to qualify the team.

When you heard that Senegal will recall some senior players to beef up their squad, didn’t you also think of inviting some experienced players like Seyfo Soley and Jatto Ceesay to balance your team?

I think about lot of things. But you also have to think of the future. We have to give the young ones the chance to prove themselves and get the experience they needed. This is the only advantage you can get for the future. If I stick to the old players and let the youngsters warm the bench, how can we be assured of the future.

Does that mean that no new faces should be expected in the squad for the match?

Yes... Only that there will be some change of roles because we are going for more offensive players. Sometimes changing the squad does not work and I just have to stick to the previous team though every player most prove to me that he deserves a place in the team.

Any final word?

The Gambia have a great team. Though most of the players are not playing at the highest level in Europe, they have the quality. They only need the experience and maturity. But it is just a matter of time, so I need the time to have a better view of the players playing in Europe as well as home based players. We also have to develop the players within the age brackets of 16 and 18.

I can tell you that The Gambia have a diamond, we only need to polish the diamond and this requires time.

As part of preparations for the most awaited Gambia Scorpions do or die encounter against neighboring Senegal in the Joint World and African Cup preliminary rounds slated for October 11th in Dakar, the Gambia Senior National team coach has invited 21 foreign based players.

Speaking to Point sports the President of the Gambia Football Association Mr. Seedy MB Kinteh, revealed that 21 players are invited for the game and that the all players will be in Banjul on the 5th of October 2008 latest.

He said that the “GFA will make all arrangements for the team’s preparation and will be leaving the Gambia on the 10th of October 2008 and the game is slated for the 11th of October 2008 in Dakar Senegal.”

According to the GFA President, the team will move to camp on 5th October 2008 at the Sea View Garden Hotel.

Meanwhile it could be recalled that the Gambia is currently lying second in group 6 of the world and African Cup of nation preliminaries. However, analysis believe that the Gambia needs only a point to progress to the next stage while the host Senegal needs a win to go through.

The scorpions last visit in Dakar was in 2003, when the Gambia lost to the Terranga lions of Senegal 3-1 in the joint world and African Cup qualifiers.

The Group 6 stands as follows:

Algeria 9 points

The Gambia 8 points + 3

Senegal 8 + 2

Liberia   2 points

The President of the Gambia Volleyball Association Musa Cassa Taal has expressed satisfaction with the successful staging of this year’s national Volleyball league.

He described this year’s league as far better than the previous years despite the limited number of teams that took part.

“Before, we used to have about 14 teams featuring male and female but this time around we had less teams and it was successful. We lost most of our teams due to the fact that some of the players traveled out of the country. This is why this year’s league has featured very young talented players,” he explained.

The GVBA boss is also of the opinion that coaches trained by The Gambia Volleyball Association can also help in increasing the number of volleyball teams by setting them up for the league.

“We intend to come on with a Regional League in March 2009 to improve the standard of the league. The league will feature all regions in the country and teams will play home and away matches,” he pointed out.

The National Volleyball League, which finished recently, was won by Old Jeshwang with 21 points, Interior were second with 18.

Betterness, LK Boyz and UTG came out third, four and fifth positions with 15, 9 and 0 points respectively.

Meanwhile, the Knock tournament of The Gambia Volleyball League is scheduled to commence on the 10th of October 2008.     

Cassa Tall also seized the opportunity to commend Nawec, Gam Works and their patroness Ndey Sainabou Jeng for their usual support in the successful running of volleyball programmes. He said, “They have been assisting the GVBA in their past activities and we hope that they will render the same assistance this year so that we can meet up some of our needs and constraints before the starting of the knockout,” he stated.

After guiding side to an emphatic 3-0 win over Liberia on Saturday - a result that saw the  Scorpions well on course for a place in the play-offs of the 2010 World Cup and Nation Cup qualifier, Gambia’s European coach Paul Put is now focusing on his final qualifier match against local rivals Senegal.

Gambia will fetch Group Six’s automatic ticket to the next stage if they beat Senegal in Dakar on October 11, and the Belgian is optimistic this probability is feasible but only if the Scorpions are given the adequate preparations.

“The game against Senegal is a big match and it requires adequate preparations,” he said.
“Senegal are a big side and they have players playing in Europe’s top leagues.”

“But I have confidence in my players. I always tell them not to bother themselves with big names because in football it is commitment and self-belief that drive you along,”

Paul Put who is thrilled by Gambia’s performance in the combined qualifiers and wants the Scorpions to do everything possible carve out a good ending to the campaign.

Speaking to Pointsports in an interview at the team’s camp at the Seaview Garden Hotel, the coach expressed satisfaction that his boys will be victorious come Saturday. He said, “the boys are well prepared and the mood in the camp is very high. We have a very good young team and the players are willing to deliver.” He added, “players like Edirisa Sonko, Dawda Bah, and Abdoulie Corr, are all experienced players, but could not make it. It is good to get your squad completely on time but Ihave the confidence in theplayers and they have to prove it.” According to Coach Put, “the players wantto qualify and it is very good to have such players in your team that are willing to win.”

Meanwhile the Liberian team finally arrived in The Gambia on Wednesday 3rdSeptember 2008 and currently lodged at the Palm Beach Hotel.

The game will be a do or die affair for The Gambia as they must win to see their dream of qualifying for the next stage of the joint World and African Cup preliminaries. The game is slated for Saturday 6thSeptember 2008 at the Independence Stadium In Bakau at 5pm.