KPL coaches under fire after dismissal of multiple tacticians

The rate at which Kenyan Premier League coaches have lost their jobs this season is alarming. 

So far, Tom Juma (AFC Leopards), Francis Haringingo (Sofapaka), Twahir Muhiddin (Bandari), and Francis Baraza (Kenya Police) have all been taken to the chopping board. 

The four tacticians attracted the fury of their employers after posting unimpressive results in their opening fixtures of the season. 

Whereas Haringingo was sent packing to pave the way for Ezekiel Akwana, Muhiddin was replaced by his assistant John Baraza even as the Police turned to Drazko Logarusic to clean up the mess left behind by FBaraza. But the whirlwind has not entirely settled on the big boys' stage.

Tusker's Robert Matano — arguably the most seasoned gaffer in the league — has increasingly found himself under the pump in recent days. 

On Sunday, Matano reportedly received an ultimatum from his enraged employers asking him to either deliver a win against champions Gor Mahia or face the axe.

Of course, his charges let him down after they crashed 1-0. Reports indicate that the Ruaraka-based Brewers have handed 'the Lion' a lifeline after a public uproar.

This was not the first time Matano was being put on notice. He weathered the same storm last season but somehow managed to navigate through. 

Time will tell if he will escape the noose this time around with speculations already rife that the beer makers are intent on overhauling the bench. 

The pressure is becoming too much to handle as the heat intensifies in the kitchen.

No one could have described the situation more aptly than Gor Mahia head coach Johnathan McKinistry who boldly weighed in on the plight of local tacticians.

 "The demand on coaches is enormous, and everyone in this league—including Robert—enters the league expecting to labour nonstop," McKinistry opined after their game against Tusker at Moi Stadium, Kasarani. 

"Tusker and Robert have gained the most points over the past three years, and I have no doubt they will return. Not like playing PlayStation, for example. On the field, there are people; sometimes things go well, sometimes they don't," he added.

 Anytime a team's performance hits a new low, the coaches and, in some instances, the players have always been the easy targets — the readily available scapegoats. 

However, a microscopic analysis of the problem exposes some more deep-rooted problems whose details remain partly hidden from the public. 

Non-performance might as well trickle down to administrative issues.

Are the players paid their salaries and match allowances on time? Only recently, AFC Leopards head coach Patrick Aussems bolted out of the den citing unpaid dues totaling to millions of shillings. 

Additionally, Leopards have fought through transfer sanctions imposed by the world football governing body, Fifa, for breaching the contracts of their former foreign players and coaches. 

Before reclaiming the KPL title last season, record champions Gor Mahia experienced a rough patch owing to perennial financial constraints that led to a mass exodus of players. 

With a weak squad available for selection, the coach who was in charge at that time  Andreas Spier could not deliver the title.  Spier merely managed to steer K'Ogalo to a top-four finish in the country's topflight league amid the challenges.

 He would later be replaced by Irishman Johnathan McKinstry who landed on soft ground, arriving at a time the club secured a deal with a well-oiled betting firm.

He ultimately cracked the title on his debut. It becomes virtually impossible to garnish a club's trophy cabinet with silverware under such adverse conditions. 

Coaches must also be afforded adequate time to mould a winning team. Players need time to adapt to a new coaching philosophy and gel with the rest of the squad. 

Finally, clubs are at liberty to fire non-performing coaches who fail to meet set targets with the right conditions in place.