NAIROBI, Kenya, September 25 – New Kenyan football head coach, Henri Michel, will be given enough time to haul the nation from the doldrums of world football.
Football Kenya Federation ( FKF) chairman Sam Nyamweya assured the Frenchman would be given free reign to manage Harambee Stars as Michel prepares to begin training with his first squad ahead of November’s regional CECAFA Senior Challenge Cup.
“I’m aware of the problems with previous coaches and interference by the federation and I want to make it clear that Michel is a professional and we have given him a free hand to manage the team,” Nyamweya pledged.
He called on Kenyans to be patient with the new coach assuring that the coach would not be fired if Stars come unstuck at the tournament where they failed to get out of the group stages last year.
“We cannot continue with this culture of firing coaches. There is commitment from the government towards improving the team and welfare of the players and this will take time.”
“To reach where I have reached, I’m a patient man. You do not build the house within one day. He is a top class coach and we realize he needs to start from scratch,” he said.
He disclosed Michel, who took Cote d’Ivoire; Morocco, Tunisia and Cameroon to the FIFA World Cup had proposed a bonus scheme to motivate the players.
“We had a discussion with him and an area he wanted addressed is the area of bonus and allowances. Most countries do not pay allowances but handsome bonuses are the way to go but we shall give them a small token for their families,” he stressed.
Michel named his first squad of 28 last week and will start training with the call-ups on Tuesday in readiness for the tournament Kenya last won in 2002.
“The main targets we have given him is qualification for the 2014 World Cup and 2015 Nations Cup. We are playing our first CECAFA match on Dec. 1 and that is too soon since we do not have players,” Nyamweya added.
Michel who has 30 years of coaching experience was hired in August with the mandate of crawling Kenya out of the position 126 they occupy in the latest FIFA world rankings.
SQUAD
Goal Keepers: Boniface Oluoch (Tusker), Jacktone Odhiambo ( Ulinzi), Fredrick Onyango (Gor Mahia) Duncan Ochieng (Sofapaka)
Defenders: Edwin Wafula (Leopards), Solomon Nasio (Gor), Geofrey Kokoyo (Ulinzi), Eugene Asike (Sofapaka), James Mulinge ( Ulinzi), Goerge Owino (Sofapaka), Leonard Mosoti (Gor), James Situma (Sofapaka)
Midfielders: Christopher Wekesa (Gor mahia), Osborne Monday ( Sofapaka), Anthony Okumu (Gor), Peter Opiyo (Tusker), Humphrey Mieno (Sofapaka), Francis Kahata (Thika), John Nairuka (Thika) and Bob Mugalia (Sofapaka)
Forwards: Moses Odhiambo (Gor), Michael Baraza (Leopards), Charles Okwemba (Leopard), Allan Wanga (Leopards), Wycliffe Ochomo (Ulinzi), Enock Agwanda (Sony), Salim Rama (Gor), Moses Arita ( Thika).
