Coaches wary of Harambee Stars job

What you need to know:

  • Ex-internationals Otieno and Mulama were to work with Williamson as assistant coach and team manager, respectively.
  • Williamson, Otieno and Mulama are also reported to be wary of the prospect of taking over at the national team without the knowledge and full backing of the government.
  • Michel and Amrouche were severally locked out of their premises on several occasions after defaulting on lease agreements.

Gor Mahia coach Bobby Williamson seems to have developed cold feet on the prospect of taking the reins at the national football team.

Despite having been ‘appointed’ to head the Harambee Stars technical bench on August 5, the Scot suggested to Daily Nation Sport in an exclusive interview Tuesday that he has no immediate plans to assume that role because it is not vacant.

“As far as I am concerned, Adel [Amrouche] is still Harambee Stars coach and it is therefore wrong for me to comment about the possibility of assuming his role,” Williamson said.

And in a separate interview with the Kenya Premier League official portal, the 53-year-old coach, who won four Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup titles with Uganda between 2008 and 2012 and led Gor to winning the Kenyan Premier League title last season after 18 years, also hinted that he was committed to his current job.

“At the moment, I am still the team’s (Gor Mahia) coach, and I am certainly not comfortable with handling the two (Harambee Stars and Gor) at the same time,” Williamson told kpl.co.ke.

“I do not think it is tenable for me to handle both.” He added: “I feel it will be unethical for me to take both jobs.”

NO CONTRACTS YET

Amrouche and his assistants James Nandwa and Ken Odhiambo were reportedly relieved of their duties following the elimination of Stars in the preliminary phase of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers by Lesotho earlier this month.

Daily Nation Sport has also reliably established that Williamson, alongside his backroom staff comprising Musa Otieno and Simeon Mulama, are yet to be offered contracts to take over their roles.

Ex-internationals Otieno and Mulama were to work with Williamson as assistant coach and team manager, respectively.

In another interview, former long-serving Kenya captain Otieno, who was also the assistant coach of second-tier South African club Santos, lamented: “Kenyan football is in a shambles.

“I last heard from these guys the day they announced my appointment [August 5], but we have never sat down to discuss anything.

“I need to share with them a short-, medium- and long-term vision even as I wait for the paper work to be completed. At the moment, I have no association with the national team.”

Williamson, Otieno and Mulama are also reported to be wary of the prospect of taking over at the national team without the knowledge and full backing of the government.

Former team trainers have suffered tribulations while on duty — including Frenchman Henri Michel and Belgian Amrouche, who were both subjected to delays or non-payment of their salaries and allowances.

Michel and Amrouche were severally locked out of their premises on several occasions after defaulting on lease agreements.

Michel walked out on the team just days to a crucial 2014 Africa Nations Championships (Chan) qualifier against Burundi, which Stars lost, and filed a protest with world football governing body Fifa.

Amrouche was luckier however as the government intervened on his case by agreeing to pay his salary as it offered him an official car and a driver.