Polack in trouble with Gor Mahia’s top hierarchy over ‘suspect’ team selection
Two days after Gor Mahia beat AFC Leopards 1-0 in a tense Mashemeji derby at the Moi International Sports Center, Kasarani, coach Steven Polack is a man under siege for ignoring players signed by the club during the January transfer window.
A source told Nairobi News that top club officials and a section of the technical bench are not happy the way Polack has been treating the said players just because he didn’t bring them to the club.
WARMING THE BENCH
The players are Clinton Okoth, Nicholas Omondi, Juma Balinya and Ernest Wendo.
The duo of Okoth and Omondi were not in the MashemejidDerby match day squad while Balinya and Wendo came on as second half substitutes.
Okoth was signed from Migori Youth and was the leading National Super League goal scorer with 14 goals while the services of Omondi were acquired from Kibera Black Stars.
Polack is also said not to be happy with Balinya who grabbed a brace in his debut against Nzoia Sugar, insisting he was signed from Tanzanian giants Yanga SC behind his back.
The Ugandan important has been warming the bench as an unused substitute in the recent matches, yet he was signed as a replacement for lethal Ivorian striker Yikpe Ghislain who joined Yanga SC after a fallout with the club over salary payment.
POLACK SUMMONED
It is also argued that Polack’s decision to play Lawrence Juma and Jackson Owusu together is the main reason Gor Mahia has conceded eight goals in last five matches before Ingwe’s game.
The midfield is always at it best when Wendo, who Polack found at the club, plays with either of the two.
“He had been summoned before at the chairman’s office and told to stop sidelining the players but he has not changed. He should stop persecuting them just because he did not bring them to the club,” a source who spoke to Nairobi News on condition of anonymity said.
He added that the four players have been working hard in training but they are slowly losing hope due to lack of game time.
“It is sad Gor Mahia will be judged as a club that destroys players career yet it is the coach who is not giving them opportunity on the pitch,” the source added.
K’Ogalo currently tops the Kenyan Premier League table on 54 points, seven more than second placed Kakamega Homeboyz.