Kwara United's goalkeeper, Kazeem Yekeen has expressed his determination to play into reckoning when the league resumes from the three weeks break this Sunday.

Yekeen, a former Golden Eaglets star began the 2014-2015 season on the bench but had his opportunity when former first choice goalkeeper Shagari Ismail lost his place after conceding three goals to Heartland FC of Owerri on Match Day 4 in Ilorin.

The huge loss to the Naze Millionaires had forced United's coach, Tunde Abdulrahaman, to hand Yekeen his first start in their next home game against Nasarawa United, a match he kept a clean slate.

Yekeen consolidated his claim to the first team by making some excellent saves in more games and has since had more starting roles in the highly competitive side.

"It was an opportunity I was waiting for to prove myself and I'm glad I gave a good account of myself by not conceding any goal and we defeated Nasarawa United by a lone goal", Yekeen told www.npfl.ng.

With United training twice a day in readiness for Match Day 11 against Rangers International at the Kwara Stadium on Sunday, June 14, Yekeen insists he is not under pressure from the competition for the starting shirt with Shagari.

The shot-stopper, who started his football career at Sokoto United FC, an amateur club from the Northwest of Nigeria before signing a professional contract with Kwara United in 2009, has said he has been putting up good performances in their training to convince the Coach that he deserves the number one position. Coach Abdulrahman has however declared that he would be rotating the two keepers.

"There is what I will call a healthy rivalry between I, Shagari and the third goalkeeper and nobody is sure of picking the number one shirt. I also know it's not going to be easy but I have been doing extra work on my reflexes to be counted the best for the club", the soft spoken goalie said in an interview with npfl.ng.

Assessing Kwara United's chances having just returned to the Glo Premier League Yekeen sounded very positive that United will play their ways back to the top bracket of the log inspite of their current 14th position which he said would change in the match days ahead.

"We had some hitches before the league went on break but we have moved ahead with our training and I don't think there would be any lingering memory of the games we have lost. Our primary focus is on the next match against Rangers, which we will play to win", Yekeen asserted.

Media Officer of United, Olayinka Owolewa, who also spoke to npfl.ng, corroborated Yekeen's optimism that the players have been responding well to training and are fully charged to battle the Flying Antelopes.

"The Kwara United camp is intact with players such as Dare Ojo, Segun Alebiosu, Evans Iyoro, Obadaki Halilu, Peter Gabriel, the Gata brothers (Adeshina and Ismail), Jimoh Hammed and the rest turning out for our training schedules. The coaches are working on their fitness while our management is doing its part to ensure the club competes favourably against our opponents when the league re-starts", Owolewa concluded.