Coach Okumbi is Impressed With Kenya’s Recent Run
Harambee Stars coach Stanley Okumbi is pleased with the team’s run of ten matches without a loss and believes they can do better as they head to the African Cup of Nations qualifiers.
Stars picked up their fifth victory in 10 games with the 2-1 win over DR Congo on Sunday.
“It is a good run but I am not happy still. There are some games we could have won. We also need to ensure we defend better and keep more clean sheets. In qualification that might turn out to be very important,” Okumbi said.
The tactician was impressed with the new lads in the team and showered praise on Ulinzi Stars forward Sammy Onyango who was among the standout players. He believes the build-up matches will be vital to give an opportunity to more players who have previously not had an opportunity with the national team.
Meanwhile, skipper Victor Wanyama says the team has hugely improved in terms of mental strength and character, especially in the manner in which they handled the pressure from DR Congo in Sunday’s match.
The Tottenham Hotspur midfielder now hopes the same momentum can be maintained ahead of the 2019 Afcon qualifiers where Kenya play away to Sierra Leone in August.
“The mentality of the players is different this time. Our performance means we have learnt something over the years and we are now headed somewhere. Hopefully we can continue like this and keep the streak going ahead of the qualifiers,” the captain pointed out.
At the same time, Football Kenya Federation has said Kenya’s squad of local based players will have a friendly match against their Malawian counterparts in April as part of the build-up for the African Nations Championship (Chan) which will be held in the country next year.
Source: Supersport
