Coach Jonathan McKinstry will debut today as Gambian gaffer since taking charge of the nation’s senior football team last month on a two-year contract.

McKinstry replaced Tom Saintfiet who quit his role after The Scorpions poor performance at the Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast. 

McKinstry who is tasked with helping the Gambia qualify for the 2026 World Cup now face an uphill battle as the nation’s top football team lost their two qualifying matches under his predecessor.

But the 38-year-old Irish is hopeful of a victory against the Seychelles who also lost their qualifying matches.

All eyes are now on McKinstry as he earned a little bit of praise for inviting a number of young Gambian players into his 24-man squad, as some key old players suffered injuries.

In his pre-match press conference in Morocco, he said: “it’s a good week (and) now it’s about going into the game and putting everyting together.”

As he sought to revamping the senior football team a consistent wining team, he said “we’ve counted some key areas we want to put in our home game play. And I think if we put that in our game well tomorrow against Seychelles we will win.”

Reporting by Adama Makasuba