体坛英语新闻：Kenyan coach demands tough play for AFCON ticket

NAIROBI, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- Kenyan national team head coach Sebastian Migne has warned his player to play at the higher level if they are to be considered for upcoming fixtures against Ethiopia and Sierra Leone in the Africa Nations Cup qualifiers.

Kenya is tied on second spot with Sierra Leone after their 1-0 win over Ghana, who lead the group courtesy of their superior goal advantage. Ethiopia is rooted at the bottom. All the four teams have three points each.

Migne says he has knowledge of who to recall to the national team after overseeing the team play two matches against Malawi and Ghana.

However, he said he is still scouting for new talent, even as more foreign based players, who were unavailable for the matches, including Beijing based Ayub Timbe return to the team.

"I have some answers but in this team, it is a new process every time. The door is always open for players to come and go, even after this game. We have one month before Ethiopia and I will watch every player in their respective leagues and maybe we can have some new players," the tactician said.

Migne, however, rues the absence of team captain Victor Wanyama, who plays for Tottenham in the English Premier League.

"He plays for Tottenham and that shows how much he is important. But what can I do?" he said.

Kenya is eyeing to pick maximum points against Ethiopia to boost their chances of making it to the finals in Cameroon in 2019. Only group winners of the 12 pools and the three best second placed teams will join hosts Cameroon in the finals.

"I don't care about Ghana now. That is in the past. The focus now is on Ethiopia. If we can get good results there then we can play a final against Sierra Leone in Nairobi and dream of AFCON," said Migne.