NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 12 – New head coach Carlos Manuel Vaz Pinto took charge of his first training session on Tuesday, with his ambition being to turn Gor Mahia’s domestic season around as well as guiding them to the group stages of the CAF Confederation Cup.
Pinto was unveiled at the club on Sunday and watched the team’s dramatic 4-3 loss at the hands of Kariobangi Sharks. The team didn’t have a head coach nor an assistant on the bench as Sammy ‘Pamzo’ Omollo, the CAF stop-gap was back with Posta while Patrick Odhiambo is also said to have left.
But even as he took the players through their paces at the Two Rivers Sports Ground, the tactician knows well the gigantic task that awaits them.
“I came to Gor Mahia because this is a big club and I am very proud to be the coach of Gor Mahia. I want to achieve big things and make history. We have to start work and work very hard to win games in the league and put Gor in the group stages of the Confederation Cup,” he said.
Gor have won only one out of three league matches this season, a 1-0 victory over Ulinzi Stars while they have endured losses to Tusker FC and Sharks.
Their Continental football journey dropped a pace down to the Confederation Cup after an 8-1 aggregate thrashing at the hands of Algeria’s CR Belouizdad in the second preliminary round of the Champions League.
And now, to endear himself to the Gor faithful, Pinto hopes he can guide the team past Zambia first timers Napsa in the two legged play-off round of the Confederation Cup on February 14 and 21.
“Of course we can qualify. The time is not too much but it is enough to analyse the opponents and also study our team to put focus on the process and in training together so that we can achieve the group stage,”
“I am young and ambitious and I also want my team to be ambitious. If you don’t put big goals in your job, you canot achieve big things. I think we can do big things in the club and I want us to fight and win games and trophies,” the tactician added.
The 46-year old tactician will be handling his fourth club in Africa after working with Ethiopia’s St. George and Angola’s CRD Libolo both for slightly less than a year. He also worked with Recreativo da Caala, also an Angolan team.
He is expected to be on the bench on Thursday when KÓgalo take on Mathare United.