‘Don’t Put your hopes very high,’ says coach

The National Football Team Harambee Stars coach Belgian Paul Put (C), and assistant coaches John Kamau (L) and Stanley Okumbi during team's open media session at Utalii Grounds on November 30, 2017. Photo/Stafford Ondego/www.sportpicha.com Owner: SportPicha

“Don’t compare Kenya to Barcelona or Real Madrid,” that was the message of Harambee Stars Coach Paul Put to Kenyans after guiding the national team to tomorrow’s 2017 Cecafa Senior Challenge Cup finals, at Kenyatta Stadium, Machakos.

Kenya will face Zanzibar in the final. The islanders shocked champions Uganda 2-1 yesterday to book a slot in the final.

Kenya had to dig deep with Whyonne Isuza latching onto substitute Samuel Onyango’s lay-off in the box just seven minutes into the extra time to see off a resilient Burundi in an epic semi-final in Kisumu on Thursday.

The Burundians were dominant and it seemed like the final dream was over for the hosts, but Onyango’s impact off the bench turned around their fortunes, lifting the spirits of the whole team.

The final whistle brought a huge sigh of relief from Put and the home crowd as their thoughts quickly switched to the final in Machakos after a real test of their character and confidence.

“First of all, we are not Barcelona or Real Madrid, we have to be realistic in football. This is totally a new team, so we have to be patient. Burundi were sure of their qualification after only two games, but we had to wait until the fourth game,” Put said.

“I was surprised that we could finish this situation in the extra time with this quality and the few chances we created. Burundi is a very good team and I think we were lucky in the first half. They must have been disappointed by the outcome.”

The Belgian went on to liken the 39th edition of the oldest tournament in the continent to a marathon.

“I think this is a marathon and not a tournament. The matches are too close and the travelling we are doing is not easy, congratulations to the boys. They showed the mentality, character and they for sure deserve to be in the finals. This is exactly what Kenyans wanted,” he said.

The former Burkina Faso coach then allayed his frustrations over the number of injuries in the team after both captain Musa Mohammed and Vincent Oburu limped out injured to join striker Masoud Juma in the treatment room.

“As a coach, you must believe on the changes you make. I don’t think we will have a strong squad in the final, because of the injuries,” Put said

“We are traveling tomorrow (Friday) to Machakos, so we are going to lose one day for recuperation and getting the team back to shape. With the injuries we have,  I think it will be a bit tough for us but it will be also be a chance for other players to stand up and show their quality.”

But for his opposite number Olivier Niyungeko, the best team lost in Kisumu.

“To be honest, it was a tough match but we didn’t deserve to lose. We created many clear cut chances more so in the first half,” he said.

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