The Gor Mahia coach says his players are motivated to retain their league crown and return to continental football after missing out on the upcoming season’s tournament
Gor Mahia head coach Johnathan McKinstry is pleased with his side’s progress in pre-season despite the fact that the players are not “at 100 percent” yet.
K’ogalo clinched their seventh FKF Charity Shield trophy on Saturday after a 4-2 win on penalties after a 1-1 draw over a 90-minute period.
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McKinstry insists clinching two trophies is already "a year ahead of schedule" for his young side despite being termed favourites for next season's league crown.
“We are very pleased. Winning is a habit. Winning the league last year was a big high point for us. We said that was probably early in our development as a team although an expected thing from the outside,” McKinstry told Pulse Sports.
“We are preparing. We have only been back in three weeks and our opponents were back for four or five weeks. We have just finished our third week of training. We intentionally wanted five weeks.
“We are not 100 percent. There is a lot of sharpness and fitness that needs to come but you get there through a combination of challenging games and training programmes.”
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McKinstry says that, although they were slapped with a harsh reality that they would not be taking part in the CAF Champions League this year, his players are fully committed to making amends next year.
The Northern Irish tactician is also pleased for the players that won their first ever senior medal.
“On the inside, we are still developing and growing and we are preparing for the new season. We obviously were disappointed to miss out on the CAF Champions League, there is no point denying that, but the guys came back into pre-season training fully committed to going out and winning another league title," he added.
“We are happy where we are. I am pleased for the players, especially the new guys who won their first ever medal.
“It is a short career. Do not tell the new guys that charity shields and supercups do not matter because there are guys who can play up to 500 games and never win a single trophy.
“In Kenya, we have three major competitions, the FKF Cup, Charity Shield and KPL. We have claimed two, so we can be very pleased with that.
10:00 - 20.07.2023
OPINION: Kenya must invest in youth and grassroots football to become a regular World Cup and AFCON side. This is why
If Harambee Stars is to qualify for its first ever World Cup and always go far at the AFCON, this is why it must invest in youth and grassroots football.