Gor, Ingwe and Ulinzi coaches feeling the heat

From Ivan Minnaert at the den to Ze Maria at Gor Mahia, things are falling apart, and there is no certainty they will be holding their jobs by the end of the season.

Matters are not different at Ulinzi either, where Coach Robert Matano may not have his contract renewed.

That is the story of the 2016 Kenyan Premier League (KPL) season, where no side seems to be ‘interested’ in winning the title.

Tusker FC under, Coach Paul Nkata, remains on top with 44 points, seven clear of defending champions Gor Mahia, but their performance has been nothing to write home about. From just 23 games, the 10-time Kenya champions have collected an average of 1.9 points a game, far lower than expectation from the club’s management.

Talk of Paul Nkata being replaced have been in the air since the start of the first leg, and despite the fact the brewers have led the league table for most of the season, they have not impressed.

“I cannot solidly say Nkata will be our coach next season. When you look at the general performance, it has been way below expectation. We are hoping we will win the league, but how convincing have we been all through. Look at the teams we have lost to,” a senior official at Ruaraka told this writer.

“We will sit down at the end of the season and perform an audit before making a decision. But as things stand now, we are not very excited about our performance,” added the official who asked not to be named.

Tusker are known to be ruthless. They fired Coach Sammy Omollo just months after winning the league in 2011, and did the same with Robert Matano the following year.

Gor Mahia were expected to dominate the league this season, especially after their unbeaten run during the last campaign. But the second leg has exposed the soft underbelly of the defending champions whose coach, Jose Marcello Ferreira (Ze Maria), seems to have lost the plot.

Recently, the club chairman Ambrose Rachier, read the riot act to Ze Maria — his side has won only twice in seven league games besides being tossed out of the GOtv Shield by lowly Nzoia Sugar.

“You all know we are concerned. You must prove to us that you want to work together or we seek alternatives,” an enraged Rachier told the technical bench led by Ze Maria.

“Draw, Draw, Draw, loss... is that why we are paying? Is that the best we can provide even with the investment we have put?” the Gor chairman asked.

The problems at Gor run deep. There are claims Ze Maria has created positions for his son Rafael and kicked out goalkeeping coach Mathew Owino ‘Ottamax’. On the other hand, assistant coach Tom Ogweno has reportedly been relegated to a handy boy.

Team manager Jolawi Obondo is unsure of his role. Meanwhile, Ze Maria, his Brazillian assistant Marco Aurellio and Italian fitness trainer Sandro Fantoni, wield so much powers at the bench to a point of issuing orders as they wish. The situation got worse last weekend when the coach ordered Ottamax out of the travelling party for the GOtv Shield game against Nzoia, a game they lost.

According to sources at Gor Mahia, the coach has resorted to using the “F” word on his local assistants. “When asked if Ze Maria’s job is safe, Gor assistant secretary Anima replied, “No comment.” That speaks volumes.

In the den, Ivan Minnaert may as well be out of a job by the time you will be reading this. AFC Leopards are in shambles; they are tenth in the league and the club management was to meet to discuss his future.

In Ulinzi, the assistant chairman, Joe Birgen, said they are yet to discuss the future of Matano. “His contract runs out in December. We will only talk after that,” said Birgen.

Also clinging on is Ushuru coach Ken Kenyatta, whose side is flirting with relegation.