Give McKinstry time at Gor Mahia

In the middle of the biting July cold that was way colder than an ex-lover’s heart, we at Gor Mahia had something to warm our souls, after the club management announced the recruitment of a new coach to lead us to the premiership Canaan of lifting the diadem.

As we sing ‘Auld Lang Syne’ to the month of July and welcome its twin, August, I would like to extend a hearty welcome to our new coach Irish Jonathan McKinstry who was officially unveiled last week as he penned a two-year deal to replace German tactician Andreas Spier. 

From his CV, McKinstry is the right man for the job seeing as it is that he has previously handled Uganda, Rwanda and Sierra Leone national teams, Saif SC and Kauno Zalgiris clubs. Karibu sana Bwana McKinstry! Now it is all hands on the deck as we seek to restore our unrivalled authority as the undisputed kings of the roost in these our neck of the woods.

In as much as I am doffing my cap to the team management led by chairman Ambrose Rachier, a few questions linger on my mind. There is a saying that a marriage between divorcees is a triumph of hope over experience.

From our recent experience, I have realised that we have reached, if not already surpassed, the record by our miserable looking neighbours AFC Leopards in running a revolving door concerning coaches. There was a time Ingwe was changing coaches with the dexterity of a normal human being changing a piece of underwear. So much so that some wisecracks even coined a new meaning for AFC- Always Firing Coaches.

Whereas I have no inside knowledge on what led to those firings, it was evident that Ingwe never had any stability because no sooner had a coach named his preferred first 11 than he was at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport hunting for a bargain air ticket to go back to where he was hired from.

At Gor Mahia we used to have a good laugh over the misfortunes that our perennial rivals faced with their tacticians. The Swahili have a saying, ‘usiwatusi wakunga uzazi ungalipo’ which loosely translates that you do not make fun of the midwife if you are still of a child-bearing age.

Time has proved that we might have laughed a little bit too early because now we find ourselves in the same boat, almost being the coxswain of the rig. This was evident from fans on social media immediately one of us Tony Anelka posted the news of the arrival of the new coach.

“Did you tell him not to unpack his suitcase?” “Will he be with us to the end of the season or he is just but a crashing wave?” These were some of the unflattering comments that members of the Green Army had for the new coach.

What I am asking- and I know I am speaking for most of the fans- is that we must have a coach for a considerable time. The man must be given free reins to run the show as he deems fit. The idea of some officials bringing players with the fitness levels of an off-duty drunk must be stopped.

Talking of players, I am of the opinion that the ban by Fifa that ruled us out of signing foreign players is a blessing in disguise. I have had the chance to watch our junior team in action and I must admit that we have raw talent in abundance in that unit.

This is the perfect time to elevate these young lads to the big stage. In the end we might just gleefully learn that the solution to our problems was within reach.