Shabana secretary general Elizaphan Kerama has added to the confusion surrounding the club after claiming coach Sammy Okoth is still in charge despite the tactician resigning on Sunday
Shabana secretary general Elizaphan Kerama has denied reports that coach Sammy Okoth has left the club.
Okoth announced his resignation on Sunday in the wake of his side’s 4-0 humiliation by Ulinzi Stars at the Ulinzi Complex, saying he was paving way for someone else after trying his best for Tore Bobe.
“It is very unfortunate that it happened, I am not okay with whatever happened and I just feel I should let it go at the moment. I should just relax and maybe let somebody else come and do the job because 4-0 is a defeat that I have never ever gone through since I started my career as a coach," said a disappointed Okoth after the match.
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However, Kerama claims the coach was ‘misquoted’ as he spoke in heat of the moment since ‘he is still in charge’ and will even lead the team during Wednesday’s crunch match against Gor Mahia after ‘leading training’ on Monday.
“He was misquoted. He is still in charge, we have trust in the technical bench,” Kerama told Pulse Sports.
“Everything is okay and when that time comes, we will make the decision in a professional way and make it official. The thing is that the coach felt humiliated after that heavy defeat, he spoke in the heat of the moment.
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“We have full trust in him but when a defeat comes in that manner, it surprises him just like the rest of us. He was in training today and he will be in charge for our match against Gor Mahia.”
Kerama, however, gave no assurances whether the coach still has a future at the club given their recent string of poor results.
“The final product will give us a final scorecard, we have targets with the technical bench which we will look at it when times comes and asses the repercussions,” he added.
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“We pray that results start to come, the best remedy for this situation is to win matches, when that happens, even those who were chanting ‘Okoth must go’ will start supporting him. Winning matches is the best communication with the fans.
“If the coach has to go, it must be in a respectable manner because we respect him and celebrate him given where he has taken us from.”
Kerama’s sentiments, however, conflict with his earlier remarks when he told The Star that Okoth’s assistant Oscar Kambona has taken charge on interim basis as they search for a permanent replacement.
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“Kambona will lead the team against Gor Mahia on Wednesday and Bandari on Sunday as we look for a new coach by the time we host Nzoia Sugar on November 11,” Kerama told the publication. “Even though I have not received his (Okoth’s) resignation letter, I respect his decision and wish him well in his future endeavours.”
Efforts to find a comment from Okoth proved futile but the conflicting information adds to the confusion currently bedeviling the club.
Okoth, who lead Shabana to promotion to the Premier League after a 17 year-hiatus, has handled Shabana in eight games, winning one, drawing four while losing three, and they are currently 16th on the table with seven points.
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