Looking to pull Vissel Kobe out of midtable obscurity, newly appointed manager Akira Nishino on Sunday clarified the need for more quality as he held his first meeting with his players and team staff on Sunday.
"I want to create a team that has higher quality and bring out more of the players' strengths," said the former Gamba Osaka boss, who in addition to getting to know his players ran the rule over Vissel's reserve team in a practice game.
Nishino was named Vissel's new boss on Saturday. The move reunites him with midfielder Hideo Hashimoto, who moved to Kobe in the close season after being a regular at Gamba during the 57-year-old Nishino's decade-long tenure there.
Speaking of Hashimoto and the club's other recent signings, Nishino said "I want them to further their careers," adding he wanted former Japan striker Yoshito Kubo, who has only scored twice this season, "to be more focused on scoring goals."