The new coach was overseeing his first game since he replaced Manuel Vaz Pinto at the club’s helm
Gor Mahia head coach Mark Harrison has revealed he made three changes against Kakamega Homeboyz because he was not impressed by the professionalism of some of his players.
It was Harrison’s first game in charge since he was appointed as coach and he managed to pick a 1-0 Premier League win over Kakamega Homeboyz, but it was the changes he made that raised eyebrows.
Goalkeeper Samuel Njau was among the surprise inclusions in the first team. Fred Nkata played because Geoffrey Ochieng was out injured, while Joachim Oluoch was also drafted into the defensive line.
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Lack of professionalism?
Njau brought down Moses Mudavadi for Homeboyz’s first penalty but Wanga did not score from it after the goalkeeper saved. He also saved a Francis Omondi penalty later.
“I have got to be honest, we made three changes before the [Kakamega Homeboyz] game because we had issues with the players. I was not happy with their professionalism. It is something I had to do because, as a coach, things happen like that in life,” Harrison told the media ahead of Sunday’s game against KCB.
“I am not going to elaborate more on that, but it is a situation that is understood. We are okay and we can move on now.”
Harrison – drawing lessons from the Kakamega Homeboyz game – explained what he needs his boys to do going forward.
“I was a little bit not completely impressed by the performance, but the boys gave everything,” he added.
“They were massively competitive and gave their 100%. We can do much better on the ball and have complete control of the ball.”
He further detailed how he will use the current season to prepare for the 2021/22 campaign: “This season there is nothing more to achieve because we have got three games or so to go. We will use them to build a platform, to help the players know each other and give them an idea of how I would like them to play,” he added.
“In the new season, obviously, we will be challenging to win the league and push in the Caf Confederation Cup as far as we can, especially reaching the group stage, but to do that, we need to do a lot better.”
The 1-0 win over Kakamega Homeboyz was a morale-booster for a side that had failed to pick up a victory in the last seven games.
