LIKUENA interim coach Leslie Notsi is adamant the Mountain Kingdom will rise to the occasion at the upcoming COSAFA Cup, notwithstanding the recent changes to their technical team following the departure of head coach, Thabo Senong.

Notsi, who is the Lesotho Football Association (LeFA) technical director, has been assigned to oversee the team at the regional tournament to be held in Nelson Mandela Bay, South Africa.

This after Senong resigned from the job with a week before the start of the coveted competition.

Likuena are heading to the tournament with a mixture of experienced and young players.

They will get their campaign underway on Tuesday against Eswatini in Group A that also features Botswana and hosts South Africa.

“I think since we started last Friday with the squad, the attitude of the players has been quite good. You see players that are willing to learn and are also committed to the cause,” Notsi said.

“We had to really dig deep in terms of selecting the final squad from the players we found in camp. We have had good sessions with them and a practice match against Namibia, which ended in a goalless draw.

“We believe that the players gave a good account of themselves and played according to our game plan. Of course, there is room for improvement, but we are quite satisfied with the preparations that we have had with them since taking over the reins.”

The 56-year-old Notsi oversaw Lesotho senior team when the side reached the semi-finals of the 2013 edition of the tournament in Zambia.

He also guided the under-20 squad to the final in 2017, where they lost 2-1 to South Africa’s Amajita.