Mainland top flight side Young African’s new coach Tom Saintfiet, who arrived in Dare s Salaam on Wednesday, met players of the team at their training base yesterday.

The coach attended his team’s training at Mabatini grounds at Kijitonyama and has already started to assess players of the team. Yanga played a friendly against street club Shein Rangers to post a 5-1 win and impress their new coach.

Saintfiet poured praises to the players as whom he admitted they are good. He insisted on building the team based on available players instead of more new signings.

“We have good and enough players here. We focus on what we have and not new ones to get on board,” he said.

However, the coach declined to comment on Yanga’s archrivals Simba, insisting Burundi champions Atletico are his only worry for now.

Yanga meet Atletico in the opening match of the Kagame Cup tournament as they gear up to retain the title.

During the Kagame Cup tournament, the coach will come face to face with Yanga fans whom he watched through Youtube during their previous matches.

He relishes the warm reception availed to him on his arrival at the Julius Nyerere International Airport and pledges to reciprocate through winning matches.

“I was motivated by the number of passionate fans who turned up at the airport. In football it is the fans who makes the game more attractive and that is the reason I am here,” he said.

Saintfiet was pleased with the training pitch despite speculation from fans that it would disappoint him.

Meanwhile, stand in coach Fred Felix Minziro, who has been in charge of the team’s training, has warmly welcomed his new boss.

“The team has been missing a master, now we have the opportunity to put our team in shape as well as pleasing the fans,” Minziro said.

He pledged to give a hand-in-glove cooperation to the Belgian as they aim to restore the club’s pride.