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Mak is to arrive here a week before Seychelles hosts Namibia in the first-leg match on March 13 at Stad Linite in the Chan southern zone qualifiers. The away leg will be played during the weekend of March 26-28.

Mak’s job is to put the final touches to the team’s preparation started by Seychellois coach Cliff Nolin earlier this month.
Known to be a good tactician, Mak has to make the Pirates shed the “whipping boys” tag, starting with the first assignment against Namibia.

If they get a win, the Pirates – who have another four friendly matches against Tanzania and Kenya this year – will clash with either Swaziland or Zimbabwe in May and June for a place in the final stage of the championship.

Mak was first hired by the Seychelles Football Federation (SFF) as technical adviser in 2008 to work with the Pirates in the African qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup, which were combined with the preliminaries for the African Nations Cup finals now going on.

He is the head coach of Swedish side IF Elfsborg and of the country’s under-18 team.
With more than 30 years’ experience as a coach, he has worked with Groningen and Feyenoord Rotterdam in Holland, Halmstads BK and IF Elfsborg in Sweden, and Nejmeh in Lebanon.

The Pirates’ new devise is strong character, and players called to the team have to display this quality.
A select number of players who have shown character in the past and are willing to defend the country’s colours have signed new contracts with the SFF.