NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 28 – Gor Mahia head coach Jonathan McKinstry has warned that the side will only sign quality players moving forward, saying the club’s transfer strategy over the last years has been poor, with lack of quality signings.
The club can now sign players after their tussle with payments of former players was settled and they have already moved quick with the acquisition of defender Emery Bayisenge and striker Patrick Kaddu who worked with McKinstry at the Rwanda and Uganda national teams respectively.
“Gor Mahia should not sign small players. As long as I am here, the type of players we sign are either top top quality players or the next generation of top talent,” the tactician told Capital Sports.
He added; “The club has got it wrong with the transfer strategy over the last two years. One of the things we said is that any players coming in now have to be players who will slot straight on into the system. Mid-season transfers are hard because there’s really no time to train them. We needed to get players who know tactically what we want and also character that we need.”
Bayisenge was with the team on Saturday when they played and won against Kenya Police and the tactician says his presence, and that of striker Kaddu from Uganda will be a massive boost for the team in their bid to battle for the Premier League title.
The team is also set to earn the signature of defender Sylvester Owino who was with kakamega Homeboyz and midfielder Enock Wanyama, formerly with Kariobangi Sharks.
“I have worked with Emery and I know his character and the quality he brings. Kaddu is alsoa great addition to the team with almost 20 caps with the Uganda national team. These are not small players. Sylvester and Enock are great exciting talent and the future of Harambee Stars,” noted the Irishman.
Meanwhile, the coach believes that the squad he has possesses enough quality to battle for the league title tyhis season.
“We do things in quiet and you don’t see us talk a lot in the media. Even at the start of the season when things were hard we kept quiet and worked in silence. We know that this game, the talk is about the 90-95 minutes on the grass,” noted the coach.
Gor currently sit top of the FKF Premier League standings with 37 points after 16 matches, four ahead of second placed Nzoia Sugar. They can extend that to 40 points if they edge out Mathare United in their catch up fixture on Thursday.
They showed much of their title credential on Saturday with the win over Police, a side that most tout as potential title candidates this season.
