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Why Gor Mahia coaching job is one of the toughest in Kenya football

Tacticians at K'Ogalo face an extra burden; performing for success and befriending the die-hard fans

One of the toughest jobs in the country today perhaps many people will say is managing a club in the stature of Gor Mahia FC.

At least 13 coaches have walked through the doors of the 57 year old club inside 13 years with the latest recruit being Croatian Sinisa Mihic. People aligned with the club, point to high expectations particularly from fans. The coaches coming in therefore have an extra burden; performing for success and befriending the die-hard supporters.

Why does the richly successful and popular club find it so difficult to stay consistent with a coach? Experts of the game argue that for any big club to succeed, there is a general feeling of targets and the one looked at is the lead on the technical bench. Indeed, one’s own success is written by his philosophy and results when it comes to K’Ogalo who are 21 times domestic Champions.

According to Gor Mahia Vice-Chairmen Francis Wasuna, certain moves made regarding the technical bench formation are driven by a desire to effect new ideas. Speaking to Informer Media, Wasuna argued it was a tricky balance between satisfying the crowd and creating an enabling environment for a coach to thrive.

“When we go looking for a Coach for the club, the most important thing is that our ideas must align. We want philosophy accompanied by good results. This is a given and most understand. A lot of coaches who come and leave usually feel there is pressure especially when they realize they are not exactly up to the task. For some, it is about scaling up or building a name. At the end of the day, we have a customer (fans)to serve and we must give him the best.,” he says.

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Wasuna, who is a city lawyer, adds; “I think sometimes it is overlooked what some coaches do or want vis a vis what the club needs. Some of our coaches before were offered contract extensions but left for greener pastures. In the case of Jonathan McKinstry who did well for us, we offered him  a two year extension but the Gambian Football Association approached him with a better deal. In any case, his heart was always running national teams because that was his experience block.”

“For some, they left due to private family reasons we remember the case of Hassan Oktay and Carloz Vaz Pinto so for such we have no qualms. The point is, when we get into an arrangement with a coach for this club, both parties sign up on expectations and targets,” he offers.

Some of the recent coaches who have come and failed to make impact as fast as fans desire include Mark Harrison (English), Leonardo Neiva (Brazil) and Andrei Spier (German).

The most recognised foreign coaches who have been at K’Ogalo include Scotsman Frank Nuttal who is the only coach who ran a campaign unbeaten in 2016/17 season. Also another hit with the Gor Mahia fans was Dylan Kerr who won a treble in 2018 (Kenya Premier League/Sportpesa Super Cup/Kenya Super Cup).

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