Coach Otieno says high turnover of coaches behind Gor's dismal show

Gor Mahia head coach Zedekiah Otieno believes the high turnover of coaches across the season paved the way for Police FC to break their stranglehold on the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) Premier League title. 

K’Ogalo fell short in their quest to win their record 22nd KPL title. 

The coaches since the season commenced last year were Jonathan McKinstry, Brazilian Leonardo Neiva, with Otieno on a repeat as he first replaced Neiva, then later re-emerged and is currently serving K’Ogalo after the former champions parted ways with Sinisa Mihic.  Mihic was appointed on a six-month contract. 

Neiva was sacked on November 13, 2024, and Mihic was appointed as his replacement on February 3, 2025, before parting ways with the club recently on mutual agreement. Otieno is currently the interim coach, assisted by Michael Nam. 

Otieno, a Gor legend, initially served as interim coach and then became an assistant coach under Mihic. Outgoing champions Gor Mahia defeated Ulinzi Stars 3-2 in their last match, but fell short due to inconsistent form, a situation Otieno says was not helped by a dramatic reshuffle in the technical bench.

 “The league is a marathon, and the Police have taken the title, and we congratulate them. We were not consistent enough this season. We were losing games we were not supposed to lose.

All in all, I congratulate the boys for punching above their weight this season. We must now focus on the Mozzart Cup against Nairobi United, which, if we win, will enable us to represent the country in Africa (Confederation Cup),” Zedekiah said after their match against Ulinzi.

He added, “We played well, we controlled the game, but a lapse in concentration forced us to concede. We must be better.”

Ulinzi Stars’ coach Danstan Nyaudo insisted there were many positives to take forward.  

“Gor have been champions for a very long time. We held them, and we made them a tough match. In the first leg, we fell 3-0 — this time it’s 3-2. Our team is much younger, many players are new, and we have made great progress. I’m more than sure we’ll be a strong contender for the title next season with whoever we have in place. We’re looking forward to finishing in the top four,” Nyaudo said.