NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 21 – New Tusker FC head coach Julien Mette has warned fans they should not expect an instant miracle when he starts his tenure with the 13-time FKF Premier League champions against Shabana FC at the Gusii Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The club has officially introduced Mette, a former Djibouti national team head coach, as their tactician, taking over from Charles Okere, whose unsuccessful tenure came to an end earlier this week.
“I am excited but fully concentrated,” the coach said, speaking to the club’s official media channels ahead of the Shabana game.
“People should not expect us to win 5-0 or something and make a complete change from the results of the previous games. I have given myself five games to completely change the outlook of the team, and so we will go step by step.”
“But for the game we have to try and implement the small things we have done in training this week, and I have told them (players) they have to win. This is competition,” added Mette, 44.
The coach says his first task has been to try and change the mentality of the players, which he says is a problem he has observed in his analysis over this week.
“It is not that they don’t have the ability, but they don’t have the experience to do it. There is also a fear to express themselves, and I have tried to speak to them as a group and also to some players individually to try and understand them,” the coach expressed.
“This week I have had a lot of sessions to talk and to listen, because we want to lay the foundation and understand each other. Step by step we will improve and get the team to do good results for the rest of the season,” noted the coach.
Mette was tasked with picking Tusker from the trenches, his predecessor Charles Okere having left the team languishing at ninth and their football doing little to inspire confidence that the Brewers will contest for the title this season.
Eight losses in 20 games have seen the Brewers melt into oblivion, and for a team which has gone toe to toe with Gor Mahia for the title over the last decade, the club’s management had to step in and make a change.
The club’s management had stuck their faith in Okere despite them missing the title last season, one that they had competed well in until their capitulation with around seven games to play.
However, that faith dwindled, and with no tangible progress seen or hoped for, they had to make a change to save their season.
-Okere lost dressing room faith –
Okere had reportedly lost the dressing room, with players openly and in private questioning his methods, both tactical and managerial. Fans were baying for his club every match, as they clearly yearned for a change.
This is the first time that Tusker has changed coaches mid-season since Robert Matano took over in 2018.
Mette is also the club’s first European coach since 1990. The club has always gone local with their coaches, with the exceptions being Paul Nkata, George Best Ndimbo and Sam Ssimbwa, all Ugandans.
Mette will hope the faith placed in him will bear fruit. He is not new to the continent, having coached Rayon Sports in Rwanda, and is also a Premier League winner with AS Otoho of Congo Brazzaville.
He joins Tusker with former Kenyan international and current Harambee Stars assistant coach Anthony ‘Modo’ Kimani flanking him in the same role.
Kimani has had coaching stints with Bandari FC, AFC Leopards, Kenya Police FC and Ulinzi Stars. His experience in the Kenyan league will be key for Mette as he seeks to traverse a new terrain.
The Shabana match will be a huge test for the Frenchman who hails from Bordeaux, with the Glamour Boys on top of their game and coming off a 2-0 win over Posta Rangers last weekend.
Tusker are short of confidence with only one win in the league this year, a 2-1 result against KCB, while they were thrashed 3-1 by Mathare United last weekend in Nairobi.
A win will be crucial for the Brewers, and they have their work cut out coming to a venue where they have not won in all their two visits.
