Gusii FC assistant coach Calvince Ochieng believes his side will bounce back after being relegated from the National Super League.
The club was relegated on Sunday after a 3-1 loss against play-off-chasing Nairobi United. Gusii FC will feature in the FKF Division One Zone B next season.
“This is not the end of Gusii FC. I want to assure you that we will bounce back. We have to return to the drawing board and strategise our return to the NSL,” vowed Ochieng.
He added: “It has been a very challenging season for us. We gave out two walkovers because of financial challenges. We were docked points by the FKF after dishing out the walkovers.”
Gusii suffered a blow when their coach Kassim Junior dumped the team for the Micheal Olunga Foundation Academy (MOFA). His replacement Phelix Otieno also resigned in a huff.
Another coach who came on board Joseph Ongoro also left the team. Former strikers Dennis Onkangi and Ochieng have been handling the team.
“The departures of the coaches also affected the stability of the team. We also lost key players to NSL and KPL clubs,” added Ochieng.
The Kisii-based team failed to honour their away games against SS Assad and Kibera Black Stars.
Ochieng, however, remained optimistic that they will honour their two remaining games against Naivas at Kenyatta Stadium in Machakos on Saturday and Kajiado FC on Sunday, June 30.
Gusii FC and Silibwet Leons have been relegated while Mulembe FC, Mombasa Elite and Kajiado FC are still battling relegation.
Mulembe are 16th on the log with 35 points, Mombasa Elite 17th with 34 points and Kajiado 18th with 33 points.
In the penultimate round of games on Saturday, Mulembe will host SS Assad at Mumias Sports Complex as Kajiado welcome Luanda Villa at Ildamat Stadium. Mombasa Elite travel to Nairobi for an encounter against Darajani Gogo.
Kajiado FC will complete their games against Gusii FC at Cardinal Otunga High School, Mosocho on June 30 while Mombasa Elite will host Mulembe United.
Fortune Sacco, Administration Police Service (APS) Bomet and Meru-based 3K FC have already been promoted to the second-tier league.
