By GILBERT WANDERA
Jacob 'Ghost' Mulee is back as national team Harambee Stars coach.
Mulee was re-appointed to the position he last held three years ago, just a day after former coach Twahir Muhiddin said he is stepping down.
A statement from Football Kenya said there were no changes regarding other positions on the technical bench, which means Zedekiah Otieno and Salim Ali are retained as assistant coaches.
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Coach Ghost Mulee |
The statement said former coach Francis Kimanzi had been shortlisted for the post, but was not immediately available and will join the technical bench after completing studies for his Uefa coaching licence.
Mulee’s first responsibility will be to prepare the team for next month’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifier match against Uganda Cranes.
Stars lost their opening match of the qualifiers 1-0 to Guinea Bissau triggering a furore, which forced Muhiddin to step down Mulee will be hoping that the magic wand he held will inspire him to another dramatic performance as witnessed in 2004 when Stars last qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations finals.
He may, however, face the challenge of poor preparations that gripped Muhiddin as the team was forced to travel less than 24 hours before their match in Bissau.
Three years ago
Mulee last coached Tusker three years ago, but was fired due to poor performance in the league. He has been coaching his Liberty Professionals Academy at City Stadium.
He had initially been short-listed for the position three months ago, but disagreement in Football Kenya delayed his appointment.
He was finally confirmed after a stormy FKL meeting on Thursday where his assistant Zedekiah Otieno had also been touted to take over, but disagreement among the directors scuttled the move.
While Kenya is changing coaches mid-stream, Uganda Cranes, their opponents in next month’s Nations Cup match, have had their current tactician Bobby Williamson for the last four years.
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Stars start camping on Monday for the October 9 fixture against Cranes.
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