Harambee Stars winger Ayub Timbe wheels away from a Madagascar opponent during their African Cup of Nations build up match at the Stade Robert Boban in Paris, France, on June 7, 2019. PHOTO/Timothy Olobulu
PARIS, France, June 8 – Harambee Stars head coach Sebastien Migne has fired a warning to China-based winger Ayub Timbe that he has to conform to his philosophy or else he risks falling out of favor in the squad.
Timbe started his first match for the national team under Migne during Friday night’s friendly match against Madagascar in Paris but despite being one of the most lively players in the team, the French tactician says he did not play much to his style.
“Ayub needs to understand my philosophy; the philosophy which we have built for one year. But, I am not worried because I know he will understand. Of course if it is not the case it will be a problem for him, but I know he will understand,” Migne said after the game.
He added; “He is a talented player and he wanted to show me his quality but maybe he wanted to show it too much. But we have time to work and improve the level of the team.”
Harambee Stars winger Ayub Timbe reacts during their African Cup of Nations build up match at the Stade Robert Boban in Paris, France, on June 7, 2019. PHOTO/Timothy Olobulu
Meanwhile, the tactician said he was proud of the team’s young guns, including debutant John Avire who played the first 45 minutes and Joseph Okumu who came on as a substitute for Musa Mohammed at the beginning of the second 45.
“I was happy and almost ready to let him (Avire) go on with Olunga, but Olunga is Olunga. In the beginning I didn’t want to put him from the start because he only arrived yesterday (Thursday). But Avire showed some good things. He will be interesting for the future. He is here to learn during this period but we didn’t help him in first half he was alone. We reduced the space with Olunga in the second half and played better,” the tactician said.
On Okumu’s calm and composed performance at the heart of defense, Migne was also pleased saying Kenya’s defense is in safe hands now and in the future.
“If you don’t put the player on the field you can’t have the answer. I am not afraid to have confidence in my players; even the young players. He showed me during the last training session that he deserves to have a chance,”
Harambee Stars head coach Sebastien Migne consults with members of his backroom staff during their African Cup of Nations build up match at the Stade Robert Boban in Paris, France, on June 7, 2019. PHOTO/Timothy Olobulu
“He will be the future of Harambee stars soon; soon maybe next week, maybe after AFCON; we will see he has the quality and behavior. I am a happy coach because I have options in central defense. If you look at Mandela (Brian), Musa (Mohammed), Joash (Onyango) and Bernard (Ochieng), they are not very old,” he further stated.
Despite nit being pleased with how the first half panned out, Migne says he was happy with victory saying it has boosted their confidence heading into the final two weeks of training before the Cup of Nations kicks off in Egypt.
“It is always good to win in football. The good thing is that we didn’t concede a goal and that means we are strong defensively even under the storm like was the case in the first half. It was difficult sometimes but we were there and at the end it is a victory and it is fantastic,”
“Victory brings confidence but we need to continue to be humble. Without humility in football it is tough. When you don’t respect football, football will kill you like it was almost the case in the first half but fortunately we had a good reaction in the second half,” stated the Frenchman.
Stars had a free day on Sunday where they were given permission to tour the city of Paris, but will be back hard at work at their base in Marcoussis with two sessions on Sunday.
