Former national women’s team head coach Paul Gitau has vowed to revive Kenya Pipeline old good days in the volleyball circles.
Gitau said this yesterday after signing a three-year contract with the six-time Africa champions at the company’s headquarters in Industrial Area.
“I salute Kenya Pipeline Company for choosing me from a pool of eight applicants for this job. I have done it before and I will do again- with Kenya Pipeline. I have interacted with some of the Pipeline players before in my coaching career and you know I can do it. That we can do it... I believe that the management of this club will do everything they can to take this team to the top,” said Gitau.
The outfit won the continental club title in 1995, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2004 and 2005 and are the 2019 Africa bronze medallists. Kenya Pipeline Company’s corporate communication manager, Jason Nyantino, said Margret Indakala's contract with the club ended last year.
Subsequently, Gitau was given the lee way to select his assistant and intimated that he will go for a retired female player he has previously worked with.
“I have worked with a lot of female players since 1996 and I intend to work with one of them,” noted Gitau, who is famed for guiding the second string women's national team to win the 2015 All Africa Games.
The coach has a team of 20 players and does not intend to recruit any more for the 2020 season. “I believe everybody has the capability. I don’t go by the big names but players who are willing to learn something new every day. I am not going to give any excuse despite losing a number of players this year,” added the former Kenya Commercial Bank women’s club.
Team captain Trizah Atuka welcomed the new coach to the Embakasi-based outfit and said they are all looking forward to a great season. Atuka and Gaudencia Makokha once played under the tutelage of Gitau at KCB.
“Let us accord the new technical bench the support they need so that we can reclaim our glory. A player must know how to work with any coach as long as he or she is a volleyballer. As a player, you know what you want to achieve so work hard and with the coach at hand. Focus on the positives and your targets. We appreciate the management and I can already see vibrant faces in my teammates,” averred the skipper.
While Atuka was optimistic the team will be enlisted in the 2020 Africa women’s Club Championships, the tactician said this will be determined along the way.
“That is a decision I’ll make later. I would not want to smear mad on myself. So when the time comes and I see they are ready, we’ll enter them. If not, there are many other editions to come,” continued Gitau.
Meanwhile, the inspirational duo of Atuka (ACL) and Naomi Too who are out injured asserted that they will not hurry to return to the pitch but stick to their doctors’ timelines.
Atuka said: “Rushing to return to playing may orchestrate the injury to keep recurring so we will stick to the doctor’s timelines. I will be together with the team and give them morale and support them where need be.”
