Little-known Vaz Pinto to take over as Gor Mahia coach

Gor Mahia have settled on Portuguese coach Carlos Manuel Vaz Pinto to lead the club for the next two years. 

Vaz Pinto is expected to jet into the country on Sunday to take over from Brazilian tactician Roberto Oliveira who was sacked last month for lack of coaching papers required to oversee Caf matches.

Gor Mahia Secretary General Sam Ochola said Vaz Pinto who holds Uefa Pro and Caf 'A' coaching licences will hit the ground running upon arrival.

"He is a good coach with all the credentials. After my handshake with the chairman (Ambrose Rachier) our focus now is to take the club forward and change the fortunes both on the pitch and management," Ochola told Nation Sport on Saturday.

But even as the 46-year-old prepares to take over at the record Kenyan champions, he will have to dig deep to convince a section of Gor Mahia faithfuls who have expressed reservations due to his past record.

Vaz Pinto has previously coached St George of Ethiopia and Angolan club Clube Recreativo Desportivo do Libolo. He also had a short stint at FC Famalicao Under-23 team in Portugal from September 2019 to June 2020.

At FC Famalicao, Vaz Pinto won only four matches out of 26 he oversaw at the club. The tactician also served for only seven days at Ghanaian giants Heart of Oak after disagreeing with the management over realignment of technical bench.

It's still not clear why Posta Rangers coach Sammy 'Pamzo' Omollo - who led Gor in Caf Champions League matches against APR of Rwanda and CR Belouizdad of Algeria - was not considered for the job.

Gor has been paired with Napsa Stars of Zambia in Caf Confederation Cup play-offs with K'Ogalo hosting the first leg on February 14 before travelling to Zambia for the second leg on February 21.

Ochola has urged fans to give Vaz Pinto time to build a winning side.

"He will be on the touchline on Sunday after arriving in the morning. He should start preparing the team for Caf and league matches. We are working on a solid management plan and early preparations for Caf matches and that is why we should give the new coach time to work," added Ochola.

Gor has struggled to pay foreign coaches in the recent past forcing them to leave the club under unclear circumstances.

Frank Nuttal, Dylan Kerr, Zdravcko Logarusic, Jose Marcelo Ferreira aka Ze Maria, Hassan Oktay and Steven Polack have all left in the past citing personal reasons and financial issues.

It remains to be seen who the club will name as assistant coach after Patrick Odhiambo left K'Ogalo for a similar role at Bandari this week.