Tom Juma: AFC Leopards to shift focus to KPL after shock Shield exit

AFC Leopards Football Operations Manager Tom Juma says his side will focus on the league after being knocked out of the SportPesa Shield on Sunday.

The 2017 champions were knocked out by minnows Bungoma Super Stars, losing their round of 16 contest 4-3 on penalties, after the match finished level on 1-1 in regular time.

Following the defeat, Juma said that the team has enough time to shape up and ensure that they pull out of the relegation zone in the 18-team Kenyan Premier League.

“We can now focus on the league after being eliminated from the FKF Shield," Juma told Goal in an interview.

"We are not in a good position and without other competitions to engage us, we have enough time to put our house in order. I believe in the players we have and I am confident that we will get the result we need in our remaining games.”

Juma, however, could not hide the disappointment of getting eliminated from the Cup competition by a non-league side.

“We wanted to win the competition and represent Kenya in the Caf Confederation Cup next season but it did not go as planned. Sometimes the so-called small teams can give you a hard time, we were unlucky,” he added.

KCB and Western Stima are currently the only top tier teams that have progressed to the last eight of the knockout competition.