Gor Mahia faces tall order to maintain continuity

The current Gor Mahia squad is among the best that the club has ever fielded. It is a squad that if maintained could perform very well in next year’s African champions league and possibly reach the group stages and could win the CECAFA cup for the first time in 31 years.

Credit must go to technical bench members like Bobby Ogolla and Frank Ouna who saw it fit to sign players like Innocent Wafula and Ali Abondo who have exceeded expectations.

Everyone knew that Michael Olunga had a lot of potential but few can claim they new he would become the best striker on the local scene. To say Olunga has exceeded expectations is an understatement. The accurate statement is that he has been phenomenal at club level, U23 level and national level. Just ask Chemelil coach Mike Mururi whom Olunga silenced with four goals.

Olunga and Kagere whom Gor Mahia pursued for a long time have proved able replacements for departing players like Sserunkuma and Rama Salim.

Karim Nizigiyimana and Abouba Sibomana have ably replaced Calabar. And with Aucho available, Gor Mahia hardly misses Godfrey Kizito. These players are performing at a much higher level than they did before. So excellent is their play that Tusker coach Francis Kimanzi felt compelled to complain about the number of foreigners. He sees players like Aucho and Abondo playing at a higher level than they did at Tusker and he does not understand why. Only coach Frank Nuttall knows what he has done to motivate these players to perform at higher levels.

Technical bench member Frank Ouna has said that Gor Mahia will do their best to maintain the squad despite the fact that many players on short contracts are rumoured to be seeking other avenues.

“No coach wants to lose his best players after what can be termed as a successful season. At the same time we understand many teams are waiting for the opportunity to bounce on them once they get a chance. Well, we will try as much as we can to convince them to stay with us and give us their best again.

“This is a fantastic squad and we are keen to maintain the squad,” Ouna told  goal.com

For Gor Mahia to maintain their squad, fans must do their part. We must first admit that rumours about potential sponsors will remain just rumours for the foreseable future.  Fans should stop hoping for a sponsor. It is good that the club chairman is looking for a sponsor. But chances are that no sponsor will come on board any time soon.

Once fans come to that realization, then the fans must also realize that only fans can be the sponsors in the near future. Each fan must do their part. There are numerous avenues within which each fan can contribute to the club. Fans should stop hoping for a sponsor.