Henok Adugna is one of the veterans of the BetKing Ethiopia Premier League and a stalwart of defending champions St George.
Henok has previously played for Halaba City, Dire Dawa City, Jimma Aba Jifar. He has won the league title with two teams, Jimma Aba Jifar and Saint George, and he believes his team can win this year's title again.
The right back played under eight coaches and is well known by his dreadlocks. In this Q&A, he talks about his experience and his expectations.
supersport.com: How did you feel about winning the BetKing Ethiopia Premier League title with Saint George?
Henok Adugna: The title that I won with St George last season was the first for me at the club. Our weak performances of the last four years will not be repeated. We believe that, by God's will, this year's title will be ours as well.
We are competing against good opponents. We have a good team. We have young and experienced players so I believe that will help us to achieve our aims.
supersport.com: Can St George repeat last year's league title win?
Henok Adugna: Definitely. I believe we can. We have a well-organised team. We strengthened our team from where it was last season despite losing Keenan Markeneh and others.
supersport.com: Why do you think Ethiopian clubs crashed out early from continental tournaments?
Henok Adugna: We can mention different reasons, but mainly poor officiating and the weather had a big impact.
The other factors include intimidation from away fans who did everything to frighten us. They did whatever they could to spur their team to victory.
We also failed to use our home advantage. We weren't beaten by a better team, we were defeated by a last-minute goal.
supersport.com: Has the competitiveness of Premier League increased in your opinion?
Henok Adugna: I don't think so. I haven't seen a massive change. Like before all teams come with good training and with good strength, but I hope we will have a good season.
supersport.com: You said there is nothing new, but you are now saying that they become strong, does it make any sense?
Henok Adugna: Most clubs are not well organised. Many teams signed new players and it will take a long time to organise their teams so for now they are not strong as far as I can see.
Maybe, after weeks and weeks they may be strong as a team. Some clubs also changed their coaches, so to become a strong team it will take some time to gel.
supersport.com: If we apply your analogy, your team released some players too. Can we say Saint George is still a strong team?
Henok Adugna: We are good. New signings are in good communication with the team, and I think we successfully replaced the players that left. I believe we have had a good season.
supersport.com: This season you lost only against Fasil City. How would you describe that game?
Henok Adugna: You can see from the way the match went that our team was good all through the game but there were some sensitivities in our players, because of that we couldn't play to our full potential.
We were better than Fasil City in ball possession. Our fans had a lot of desire to win the match and that put a lot of pressure on our team, but to be honest, we didn't deserve to lose.
supersport.com: Do you have anything to say to your fans ?
Henok Adugna: In the biggest leagues, where the big teams lose, it is normal for there to be protests. Here it is the same.
However, we have a strong team. We must give the fans happiness by winning the league and I hope we'll do it.
If we lose or drop points, there may be protests from the fans. When we lose, the fans will be emotional, we understand this because it is expected.
In this critical moment of the season, we must work hard and win our matches to give the fans what they desire.
supersport.com: Can Ismail Ouro-Agoro break Abubeker Nasir's goal-scoring record?
Henok Adugna: There's no doubt Ismail Ouro-Agoro is a brave striker, and we play as a team, so I think we will help him. His ability is good. If he is stays injury free, then he will not just be the top scorer this season, but chances are that he will break the record.
supersport.com: Do you watch European League matches?
Henok Adugna: Yes, I do and I am also a fan of Chelsea.