NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 29- Wazito FC coach Stewart John Hall has made a sensational claim that everyone in Kenyan football circles hates the club and says they want to use that to their advantage to fire the players up and post positive results in the remaining three months of the season.
Hall joined Wazito towards the tail end of the first leg and found the club in absolute shambles, looking to rake in results and struggling to play convincing football despite spending a hefty amount in transfers at the beginning of the season.
The English tactician who has previously coached Sofapaka and AFC Leopards claims there has been a negative vibe around the team but states they will work to prove everyone wrong
“Wazito has had lots of criticism; some they deserve, some they don’t. Some of it is jealousy because they have a lot of money and most of Kenyan football is bankrupt. What we did is try and create a ‘siege mentality’,” the tactician says.
He adds; “I say to my players, everyone hates us. What are you going to do about it? The media hates us, the fans hate us, the referees hate us, everybody hates us. But we have to turn that into a positive and make it work for us.”
“I personally never read media; I don’t do social media…
why? When you know where you want to go don’t let anybody sway you. Have
confidence and belief in your ability and that’s what it’s all about,” further
noted the tactician.
Despite his rant though, Hall has managed to bring some sort of stability into the club as they have slowly crept off the danger of relegation to move seven points clear off the red zone.
They have picked three points off their last three matches, all coming off losing positions. They scored a late equalizer in draws against league contenders Homeboyz and Tusker FC as well as a late winner to beat Western Stima.
The tactician has lauded the fighting spirit and determination of the players, basing this on the personnel he recruited during the January transfer window.
“I signed nine players in January and I brought in players I can trust. I know they have excellent character and will fight for me and the club and that’s the thing. I trust this group of players. We also have good depth, something that we previously didn’t have. There is a long way to go but we are in the right direction,” stated the tactician.
And now, with the dream of fighting for the league title
gone, Hall wants to train his heavy guns on an assault at the Football Kenya
Federation Cup in which they are in the round of 16.
“We want to get as many points as possible in the league and have a run in the cup. We obviously cannot win the league now but the cup is still alive and we will have a big focus on it. At the moment we have under achieved, but we want to start saying that we are achieving,” he noted.
Wazito’s next assignment will be a sticky home tie against relegation fighting Zoo Kericho, a side eager to drag itself off the fangs of the drop zone.
Only a point separates the two sides at 13th and 14th in the standings with Zoo coming in with an ambition of recording a first ever top-flight victory over Hall’s men.
Wazito were 2-0 winners in the first leg played in Kericho while the two other meetings in 2019 ended in a 3-3 draw and a 3-0 victory for Wazito.
KPL weekend matches:
Saturday: Gor Mahia v Western Stima (Kasarani), Sofapaka vs Ulinzi Stars (Machakos), Kisumu All Stars v Tusker FC (Machakos), Chemelil Sugar vs AFC Leopards (Kericho).
Sunday: Wazito vs Zoo Kericho, KCB vs Bandari (Machakos), Homeboyz vs Nzoia Sugar (Kakamega), Posta Rangers vs Mathare United (Narok).
