Poor results force Mathare coach 'Kingi' to quit

BY GILBERT WANDERAThe Kenyan Premier League (KPL) has claimed its second coach after Gabriel eKingif Njoroge resigned from Mathare United.Njoroge, who returned to the team just this season after a long absence, put in his resignation letter last week in the wake of poor results.The coach threw in the towel despite United getting their first league victory after they stopped Nairobi City Stars 1-0 last Saturday, said United chairman Bob Munro.United have had their worst start in their 17-year history with a string of five losses and one draw, which gave them only one point from six matches.Njoroge will be replaced by Stanley GOkumbi who leaves Kariobangi Sharks a Football Kenya Federation (FKF) division one side.Okumbi at one point served as an assistant to Njoroge at Mathare Youth. He was also an assistant coach at Mathare United during the tenure of Francis Kimanzi and Salim Ali.His first match will be against Gor Mahia next Wednesday at Nyayo National Stadium. Munro, who confirmed Njorogefs resignation, praised the former coach for agreeing to continue serving the team as they were still looking for his replacement."Njoroge has also graciously agreed to help the team from time to time and for this we are very grateful," said Munro.The former coach has been an intergral part of the Mathare Youth Sports Association (MYSA) system.As a youth he represented the MYSA under-16 team in various competitions locally and abroad.He is the longest serving and most successful youth coach in MYSAfs history history.Between 1999 and 2005 he was the head coach of Mathare United and won the Presidentfs Cup in 2000. He becomes the second KPL coach to leave after Gor Mahia last month sacked Cameroonian Anaba Awono.But his departure epitomises the hard times that Mathare have undergone over the last two seasons.Despite winning the KPL in 2008, the club has struggled to equal that performance and last season, they finished a poor 12th after a string of poor results.Key playersUnitedfs main problem has been the departure of key players to other clubs owing to luck of sponsorship that has meant they often went for months without pay.Last season the club lost its top player Kevin Kimani who was also named the KPL player of the season after a great performance for the team.The club has managed to attract some of its former stars this season including Jamal Mohammed and Francis Ouma and is working to resolve its financial challenges.The 2012 has so far turned out to be very competitive and coaches may find themselves on the receiving end if their clubs continue to register poor results.Nairobi City Stars coach Gideon Ochiengf could be another tactician on target considering that his side has not won even a single match since the season started.Ochiengf was last season coaching Congo United and was fired after the club to a string of poor results.But he came to City Stars which he helped to survive relegation.Another coach, who is also under pressure is Ulinzi tactician, Benjamin Nyangweso, who is likely to step aside especially after the team lost 3-2 to Sofapaka on Monday.Recent incidents just show how susceptible coaches are in Kenya, where fansf and officialsf expectations are usually higher than their input in the club development.KPL seems more interested in players welfare than tose of coaches, whose fate are left in the hands of overenthusiastic officials.Mathare United have, however, set a precedent where there is no acrimony even after Kingifs exit.NS @

Poor results force Mathare coach 'Kingi' to quit

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