Oliech happy with Michel but doubts if he will have free hand

By GILBERT WANDERA

Harambee Stars captain Dennis Oliech has lauded the decision to appoint Frenchman Henri Michel as coach of the national team but in the same breathe expressed reservations.

Oliech, who turns out for French Ligue Two side AJ Auxerre pointed out that while Michel has a wealth of experience having handled top African teams, there is still concern about his communication abilities.

The French-born coach is not fluent in English and this Oliech says may hamper his work.

“His experience with various top African teams is impressive and it makes him conversant with football on the continent.

“However, I worry whether the coach is bilingual for better communication with the players,” he said.

Oliech is also concerned whether the new man has the clout to push his agenda for Kenyan football so as to bring about real change.

“People will be expecting results from him and so he has to be given an opportunity to work on his own terms so that if he fails, he will not blame anyone. My plea is that this will be granted,” he said.

 He also pointed out that Michel will only succeed if he tackles the problem from the root by rebuilding the country’s youth system.

“We have had other foreign coaches who failed to correct the ill in our local game.

This is primarily due to the fact that we have not tackled the problem from the root which we must now work on otherwise there will be no change,” he said.

Oliech pointed out that rebuilding the country’s football foundation must occupy the attention of the new man at the helm.

He wants the federation make training of coaches a priority at every level and emulate the Mathare Youth Sports Association (MYSA) set up of identifying and nurturing players.

 “The FKF and the Government should work closely with Bob Munroe, the chairman of MYSA who has experience in tapping talent.

“We miss those days when we had age group youth championships. They did a lot for Kenyan football,” he pointed out.

He further urged that more international matches should be organised for the national team Harambee Stars by taking advantage of Fifa friendly days.

“We cannot win matches if we only meet after seven months for a one week training session and then have to face more prepared teams like Nigeria, Cameroon or Ivory Coast,” said the Stars captain.