Will McCarthy quench Kenyans' football thirst?

Harambee Stars midfielder Mohammed Bajaber in a training session. [FKF Media]

After all the hype and praise, millions of Kenyans will today be alert and keenly following from the comforts of their homes, restaurants, pubs and hotels when South African tactician Benni McCarthy leads Harambee Stars against Gambia at Stade Alassane Ouattara, in Ivory Coast.

McCarthy has for the past two weeks been sold to Kenyans by the new Football Kenya Federation (FKF) administration led by President Hussein Mohammed and his Deputy McDonald Mariga as the savior of Harambee Stars.

Well, it is true. Kenya needs total deliverance. And with McCarthy's impressive coaching record, including being a first team coach at Manchester United, many will surely be watching.

Stars, then led by now ousted Turkish tactician Engin Firat was a joke, failing to win their last six Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifiers.

A brief stint by experienced Francis Kimanzi saw Kenya post mixed results of a 1-1 draw against Burkina Faso, a 1-0 win over Tanzania, before losing 1-0 to Zanzibar in their last three international friendly matches.

However, now we have Bafana Bafana legend McCarthy and his first job is to get Kenya out of the mud in the World Cup qualifiers where Kenya sits fourth in Group F with five points after four matches played.

Stars sit behind leaders and current Afcon champions Ivory Coast (10 points), Gabon (9 points) and Burundi (7 points) with six matches left.

A 2-1 defeat to Gabon in November 2024 set a negative tone for Kenya in their pursuit to rewrite history by attempting to qualify for the World Cup for the first time ever.

Thrashing Seychelles 5-0 in their second match was the perfect response, but draws against Burundi (1-1) and Ivory Coast (0-0) slowed down Kenya's rise up the group.

Stars must beat Gambia today to revive their push to attempt qualification and their captain Michael Olunga believes they have renewed hope and energy from McCarthy.

Olunga heaped praise on the former Manchester United coach for his integration of young players into the senior national team setup.

"We have a crop of good players in the local league, many of whom were also named in the provisional squad. It's really good to see them being integrated into the senior team at an early stage."

"We need this especially with the upcoming CHAN competition," said the Qatar-based striker.

Olunga added that the players need to adapt faster to McCarthy's style of play for there is no room for mistakes with four matches already played.

"McCarthy believes in the team. All we need to do is adapt quickly to the new style of play, tactics and move forward. We know we need results and the next two matches will be key for us," added Olunga.

Stars, however, have a reason to worry because Gambia tactician Jonathan McKinstry knows Kenyan ball well after having led record local champions Gor Mahia to two titles.