Gor Mahia fires Head Coach Zedekiah Otieno, assistants after trophyless season

Kenya football giants, Gor Mahia, has sacked its entire technical bench, including Head Coach Zedekiah Otieno, after the club lost the race to clinch the Kenya Premier League trophy to Kenya Police FC last season.

K’Ogalo, which has clinched the premier league trophy a record 21 times, were outsmarted the law enforcers, who won 1-0 on December 14 last year before drawing 1-1 in the away fixture on June 11 leaving Kenya’s most popular club leaking its wounds.

Club chairman Ambrose Rachier, in a statement, said the move to send its tacticians parking was part of part of a restructuring process aimed at strengthening its technical and operational capacity in preparation for the 2025/26 season.

“Gor Mahia Football Club wishes to inform its supporters, stakeholders, and the general public that it has mutually agreed with the entire technical bench, including members of the team security, to part ways, effective today,” Rachier announced.

According to Rachier, the decision was arrived at after a comprehensive internal review and is part of the club’s broader restructuring process aimed at strengthening its technical and operational capacity in preparation for the upcoming season.

“This decision follows a comprehensive internal review and is part of the club’s broader restructuring process aimed at strengthening its technical and operational capacity in preparation for the 2025/26 season,” he said.

“As we begin a new chapter, Gor Mahia FC remains committed to building a solid foundation that will support competitive excellence both on and off the pitch. Further announcements regarding the new technical bench set-up will be made in due course,” Rachier added.

He added that the separation was reached amicably and in good faith, adding the club appreciates the contributions they made while in charge.

“The separation has been reached amicably and in good faith, with the Club recognizing and appreciating the contributions made by the outgoing staff. We extend our sincere gratitude to the individuals involved for their commitment, professionalism, and service to the Club during their tenure,” Rachier said.

Otieno replaced Brazilian Leo Neiva who was fired in November last year after four months at the helm on an interim basis but was tapped for the job after Gor hired Croatian Sinisa Mihic in February only for him to be fired on May after a fallout with him and fellow assistant coach Michael Nam, who he accused of sabotage.

This was evident in a viral video of a bitter argument with his assistant’s bench in March before he later expelled them from training sessions.

Rachier reconciled the trio, but the controversial Mihic would storm out of Dandora Stadium during Gor’s 1-1 draw with Sofapaka in April.

He was reportedly angered by the substitutions made by assistants during the game, in which he was serving a one-match touchline ban.

However, the tensions continued leading to a run of poor results that saw fans protest against him.

The poor run, including a 2-1 loss to Nairobi City Stars and 0-0 draw with Murang’a Seal, at a critical stage in the league is believed that played a role in the club’s failure to retain the trophy.

In the end, Gor finished in second place with 59 points with Kenya Police garnering 65 points to emerge victors.

Fans have been baying for his blood over his poor performance, with the last weekend’s defeat being the latest, where he was forced to flee and hide in one of the rooms at Ulinzi Complex to avoid the anger of the fans after losing 1-2 against  Nairobi United, who went on to win the Mozart Cup, also known as the FKF Cup.

Having relinquished the Premier League title to Kenya Police FC, Gor Mahia knew the only way to play continental football was to win the domestic final.

The sacking of Otieno, famously referred to as Zico and the entire bench, comes after some fans accused Rachier of failing to stamp his authority, adding that he has been undermining coaches hired by the club to be the number one and not the assistant.

The coach, a former Gor defender, has been on the spot for undermining support by fans, saying they have little or no impact on how players perform in games, which has been making supporters of the giant football club to demand for his dismissal.

The club has also fired its stewards after it suffered poor ticket earnings with a case in point being the collection of only Sh2 million during the the second leg of the Mashemeji Derby at the Raila Odinga Stadium in Homa Bay on June 2.

In contrast, AFC Leopards collected over Sh7 million garnered during its home match at the Nyayo Stadium.