Unfavourable weather conditions have disrupted Suva’s preparations for the Pillay Garment’s Champion versus Champion Series.

The series has again been deferred to Friday, February 19 and Sunday, February 21 at the ANZ Stadium, Suva.

Speaking to SUNsports on Wednesday, Suva coach Babz Khan said they were going to start training next week.

“The weather is a huge challenge for us, setbacks in training programmes is a big issue,” he said.

“Tropical Cyclone Ana had the better of everyone and even the series itself and that is why it had to be postponed.

“A lot of my players are Police officers and they were assisting members of the public during the cyclone.

“We need to regroup and get these players back for training and on top of that we are still trying to secure a ground for training.

“These are seasoned players so it’s easy for them to get back to form and be fit for the series.”

Khan praised his players who are in the Fiji Police Force for their commitment in helping those affected by the cyclone.

He added that he would gauge the players’ fitness.

“We have 10 days to sharpen up so we have to arrange for a warm-up game with Rewa, this week,” he said.

“After this game we will see where we stand in terms of our fitness. We may have the home ground advantage but if we don’t have the fitness than it’s of no use. I believe we need to work hard on that area before the first leg.”

Khan said they would go in as underdogs in the first leg of the CvC Series.

“Labasa is a smart team. We respect them because they are a champion side. We will have to double our efforts if we are to beat them in both matches,” he added.

The Suva Football Association recently re-signed most of their senior players like co-captain Remueru Tekiata and Ravinesh Karan Singh.

Edited by Leone Cabenatabua