•The Turkish gaffer spoke moments before the 23-man squad and members of the technical bench boarded a Kenya Airways chartered flight to the Indian Ocean island on Monday.
•He said they intend to leverage the stage to sharpen their talons ahead of the World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers later in the year.
Image: @theharambeestars
Harambee Stars head coach Engin Firat believes he has selected the best squad for the week-long four-nation invitational tournament in Mauritius.
The Turkish gaffer spoke moments before the 23-man squad and members of the technical bench boarded a Kenya Airways chartered flight to the Indian Ocean island on Monday.
“We have 12 new players whom we expect to give a chance to prove themselves in the tournament. It will also be a great opportunity for us to try out new things,” Firat said.
“It’s important for the new players to adapt to my coaching philosophy. In Mauritius, we aim not only to get good results but also to display good football,” he added. Firat stated that they had a tough time thinning out the talented squad.
“One of the factors we consider during selection is the player’s performance in the league and how they adapt in the camp and their potential to blend with other players,” he added.
“They must also convince the coaches that they deserve a place in the first team. For example, we initially had four goalkeepers who were all equally good and we had a difficult time deciding who to let go.
He said they intend to leverage the stage to sharpen their talons ahead of the World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers later in the year.
“We are preparing for important fixtures later in the year and I believe the tournament is important for us.
“Three matches would have been more appropriate for us to try out more players. Now we shall have to do with the remaining two and make the most use of them.
He allayed fears that Kenya might suffer a backlash in the new Fifa rankings after failing to honour Sunday’s match against Djibouti.
“I don’t think missing out on our game against Djibouti has affected our ranking. What I know is that all games count as long as they are played on days acknowledged by the governing body. The match was on June 11 which was not a Fifa day and so it didn’t count,” Firat said.
Firat off-loaded the quartet of Sofapaka custodian Simon Masaka, Gor Mahia midfielder Alpha Onyango, Kenya Police winger Alvin Mangeni and Bandari’s Mohamed Siraj.
Also left out is Azam midfielder Kenneth Muguna who has an important club engagement against Tanzania behemoths Yanga SC in the Tanzania League Cup.
Experienced center-back Joseph Okumu has missed the trip due to injury. “Five players who played in our friendly against Iran are not here. This has a huge impact on the quality of the team but like I said earlier we have to move on and experiment with new things.”
Stars were initially scheduled to travel on Saturday ahead of their account against Djibouti the following day but the trip was aborted at the eleventh hour following logistical gremlins.
The Kenyan lads will now flex muscles with Pakistan on Wednesday before daring the host nation in their last assignment on June 18.
Full Squad—Goalkeepers: Ian Otieno, Byrne Odhiambo, Brian Bwire; Defenders: David Ochieng, Kevin Luke Otiala, Collins Shichenje, Robinson Kamura, Amos Nondi, Eric Ouma, Daniel Sakari, Abud Omar; Midfielders: Daniel Anyembe, Richard Odada, Charles Ouma, Richard Odada, Teddy Akumu, Joseph Mwangi, Abdallah Hasan, Clifton Miheso, Victor Omune, Boniface Onyango; Forwards: Moses Shummah, Benson Omalla, Michael Olunga.