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Sebsatien Desabre refutes talk of pressure despite winless streak

Sebastien Desabre of Uganda watches on during the 2018 CHAN Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix

Uganda head coach Sebastien Desabre insists he never felt under any pressure to win his first competitive game as Cranes coach despite his slow start to life at the helm.

The Frenchman had gone four competitive games without a win after taking the national team job at the end of 2017, with his only victory coming in a 3-1 competitive triumph against Sao Tome e Principe in March.

The Cranes were also held in an international friendly by Malawi, and defeated by Niger in June, but Desabre has told KweséESPN that he never lost faith in his team.

Desabre's wait finally ended as Lesotho were dispatched 3-0 in Saturday's Africa Cup of Nations qualifier.

"For me it is normal to win and achieve some of our objectives," he began. "The boys have always showed that they have the quality, and it has just been a case of putting away our scoring chances.

"I was never on pressure to win," he insisted. I started as head coach with my first game in the qualifiers being the 0-0 draw with Tanzania, and I was always confident we would win soon because the team has been co-ordinating and playing well.

"Our team never lost faith faith because they know that we have been playing well, but not taking advantage to score the chances we create."

Uganda's win takes them to the top of Group L, with seven points from their opening three matches, and they will take a major step towards the finals in Cameroon if they defeat Lesotho in Maseru on Tuesday.

"Of course, none of us wants to get into a situation where the last game decides if we qualify or not," Desabre continued, "but generally there has not been panic or worry.

"We need to win [away in Lesotho] and be assured of qualification instead of waiting for the two following games.

"For some players it's a once in a lifetime opportunity to qualify for the AFCON, and this therefore calls for hard work to win the game."

Defender Murushid Juuko, who missed Saturday's game with suspension, is expected to return to the side, with Hassan Wasswa pushing into midfield.