Muguna: I am staying

Gor Mahia team captain Kenneth Muguna has sought to set aside rumours of his imminent departure

Additional reporting from the Nation

Gor Mahia fans can breathe a sigh of relief after club captain Kenneth Muguna on Sunday asserted that he is staying at the club.

Muguna has been subject of speculations and was at one time during this transfer window rumoured to be on his way to South African giants Orlando Pirates, Simba SC of Tanzania and DC Motemba Pembe of DR Congo.

The K’Ogalo play-maker has now come out saying he didn’t understand the genesis of all the speculations yet none of the clubs has contacted him or his agents.

The 2017 Kenyan Premier League (KPL) Player of the Year told Nation Sport that he will see out the remainder of his contract, which ends in September 2021 and his focus is now to lead the club to continental glory.

The last time K’Ogalo achieved such a fete was in 1987 when they won the prestigious Mandela Cup after seeing off Tunisia giants Esperance in the finals. K’Ogalo and Esperance drew 3-3 on aggregate (2-2 in Tunis and 1-1 at Kasarani), with K’Ogalo winning on the away goal rule.

“I have been silent and watching all this speculation and unverified stories written by journalists and in blogs. Let me make it clear that I am a Gor Mahia player and I am heading nowhere, in fact to be precise, I am prepared to ensure I play for this great club until the end of my contract in 2021,” said a confident Muguna.

“What is going through my mind is making history by leading Gor to more silverware in the new season.This can be achieved through confidence, self belief and discipline between all players and the technical bench,” said the former Western Stima midfielder.

The iconic and experienced midfielder has been one of the key players at the reigning KPL champions’ camp. His departure would have left a huge gap in the midfield considering that he started almost all of Gor Mahia matches last season and was the club’s top scorer with eight goals before the coronavirus pandemic struck in March and led to the stoppage of the league.

Muguna brushed off thoughts that Gor Mahia’s chances of retaining the league are slim following the departure of some key players.

His assistant, Joash Onyango, winger Boniface Omondi, Ugandan striker Juma Balinya, goalkeeper Peter Odhiambo, Tanzania custodian David Mapigano, his counterpart Dickson Ambudo and youthful striker Dennis Oalo are some of the players who have left K’Ogalo.

“Players come and go, but it is self belief and motivation that makes each and every footballer take on the pitch to win games. The players who have been signed by the club are good and through self belief and a lot of learning from experienced ones, they will perform,” he added.

K’Ogalo has already signed 12 players and Muguna, 24, says he is ready to show leadership and work together with them.

Since joining Gor in 2017, Muguna has bagged three KPL titles and has also been a fixture in the Harambee Stars squad.

He featured for Stars during last year’s Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt. Stars were bundled out of the group stages.