Gor Mahia head coach Dylan Kerr reacts on the touchline during his side’s Kenyan premier League clash against Mathare United on April 29, 2018 at the Kenyatta Stadium in Machakos. PHOTO/Raymond Makhaya
NAIROBI, Kenya, Apr 30- With the mid-season transfer window just over a month away, Gor Mahia head coach Dylan Kerr has hinted that he may be going out into the market to strengthen the team and has warned his players not to start getting comfortable.
The British tactician was left red with anger after Sunday evening’s 2-2 draw with Mathare United in Machakos and was specifically enraged with winger Samuel Onyango for two reasons; first, he missed a brilliant opportunity to make it 3-1 off a counter and second, lost the ball in the build up to Mathare’s late equalizer.
“We conceded a goal off our own mistake. Our so called good players can’t keep the ball. The work that I do off the field, the preparations by watching other teams and in training, it is like I am talking to a brick wall sometimes,” Kerr fumed after the match against Mathare.
He added; “I need to do some serious hunting in the June transfer window because I have seen, and I don’t want complacency to set in. We got the quality but we don’t use that quality.”
The second consecutive 2-2 draw posted by the record Kenyan champions sees their lead remain three points at the top, though they have the prestige of two un-played matches due to their CAF Confederation Cup schedule.
Gor Mahia skipper Harun Shakava controls the ball under pressure from Mathare United’s Chris Oduor and Francis Omondi during their Kenyan Premier League clash on April 29, 2018 at the Kenyatta Stadium in Machakos. PHOTO/Raymond Makhaya
The weight of the congested calendar seems to have already started settling into the feet of the players and their concession of eight goals in four matches has been a huge grey area to the Kenyan giants.
“It is very hard for me because we have a tough run of fixtures and some of the mistakes we do in matches should be corrected in training. We have a plan in place to keep the players refreshed but sometimes it is very tough because you don’t want to tire the players,” the tactician further noted.
After Mathare’s tedious game on Sunday, Gor will only have a day for rest and recovery before switching their attention to the Hull City play-off match against arch rivals AFC Leopards on Tuesday in Nakuru.
This will be a headache of sorts for the tactician whose side travels to Kigali, Rwanda, for their first CAF Confederations Cup match against Rayon Sports just five days later.
Gor Mahia head coach Dylan Kerr shouts instructions on the touchline during his side’s Kenyan Premier League clash against Mathare United on April 29, 2018 at the Kenyatta Stadium in Machakos. PHOTO/Raymond Makhaya
“It’s tricky for me because we can’t even do a recovery session for the players. We have travel to think about, we have the game then five days later we have the Confederations Cup which is important for us,” the coach says.
“But we know we have a derby which is important for the fans and the Hull City is important to my players because they want to have a chance to play against an English side. I have to pick a team of players who want to play, who want to win,” the coach further noted.
He expects a tough challenge from Ingwe despite the fact that they have not been doing well in the league, but he is yet to conclude whether or not to field his best team for the Tuesday afternoon tie.
