AFCON chances are slim, admits Spier

HARAMBEE STARS' TECHNICAL DIRECTOR New Technical Director Harambee Stars Andresa Spiers during his unveiling at a meeting in Nairobi on June Thursday, 2016. [PHOTO: JONAH ONYANGO/STANDARD]

Football Kenya Federation (FKF) Technical Director Andreas Spier has admitted that the team’s chances of making it to next year’s under-17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) are as good as dead after the team lost 7-0 to Cameroon in the first leg.

The return match will be played after two weeks with Kenya needing to win by eight goals to make it through to the next round.

Spier said: “It will be a very difficult match for us in the return leg and we just want to focus on the experience from playing Cameroon.”

He said it was difficult for his charges to play against a team of players who looked older than them.

“I don’t want to talk about our opponents being over-age because I have no proof, but they certainly looked older than our players and in my experience it is difficult to get good results against such a team.”

Spier pointed out that he has noted plenty of improvement since picking the team members, who have been in camp for close to four weeks.

“We got a lot of compliments after the Cameroon match because everyone saw our players were young. The whole experience — taking part in the Cosafa Cup and playing Cameroon - has taught us a lot and we are seeing a lot of improvement,” said the German.

He further added the players remain highly motivated ahead of the Cameroon clash, insisting that a lot of time is still needed to build a winning squad.

“You need about 10,000 hours to build a complete player. We have been in camp for less than two months and so a lot of work still needs to be done. My major concern is that when these players leave camp, they might be handled by unqualified coaches and this could affect their progress,” said Spier.