Tusker FC head coach Paul Nkata with the Kenyan Premier League trophy.PHOTO/Raymond Makhaya
NAIROBI, Kenya, November 22 – Tusker FC tactician Paul Nkata has been rewarded for the club’s stunning form in November by scooping the Fidelity Insurance Coach of the Month award.
Under the Ugandan coach’s guidance, Tusker won their last two matches of the season that saw them clinch the 2016 Kenyan Premier League title.
Among those results was the 1-0 win over AFC Leopards, a victory which saw Tusker declared the champions with one match to spare.
They completed the job in their last match of the season, beating Gor Mahia 1-0 at the Nyayo National Stadium to finish the season on 61 points, seven ahead of K’Ogalo.
Nkata, who joined the Brewers at the beginning of this season from Muhoroni Youth, won the award ahead of Sofapaka’s John Baraza and Posta Rangers stand-in coach Pascal Ochieng.
“I’m happy to be finally recognised. It means much to me but it’s also as a result of joint efforts from the technical bench, management and playing unit. It is a sign of the good work we have done and we want to keep working hard to make Tusker more successful,” Nkata said while receiving the award at the team’s Ruaraka training ground.
“Next year we’ll have very tough assignments in the league so we’ll have a short break over festive season then embark on preparations for 2017. One or two additions are necessary in the squad but don’t expect very drastic changes,” he added.
Nkata, who was awarded Sh50,000, received 22 points from the seven member Sports Journalist Association of Kenya panel of judges ahead of Baraza’s 14 while Ochieng received 9.
He joins Francis Kimanzi (Mathare United), Zedekiah Otieno (Posta Rangers), Ivan Minnaert (AFC Leopards), Salim Babu (Sony Sugar), Henry Omino (Western Stima), Francis Baraza (Chemelil Sugar) and Marcelo Ferreira of Gor Mahia in the list of eminent recipients of the gong.
He also guided Tusker to the GOtv Shield title to complete a double and achieve his targets he set at the beginning of the year.
