Gor focused on Mashemeji Derby despite misfiring woes, says Rachier

Gor Mahia are in no haste to sign an additional striker ahead of the rescheduled Mashemeji derby, despite head coach Sinisa Mihic complaining of a poor attacking department as the reason for their recent struggles.

Club chairman Ambrose Rachier says they will rely on available players as they plan for potential long-term signings.

 ‘’We are in no hurry to sign a striker. I know the head coach has raised a genuine concern, but a derby does not depend on our current form whatsoever,’’ said Rachier.

After two consecutive barren draws against Tusker FC and Bidco United in their latest league matches, coach Mihic said he needed to have a plan to address the blank firings by his strikers.

 ‘’Our players are very good with ball possession and creativity. What is lacking is the finishing. I will need to do much more to ensure our team sees the back of the net many times,’’ said Mihic.

Chairman Rachier further said they are open to signing players in other departments before the March 28 mid-season window deadline. 

He said they will make it public if they manage to absorb some of their potential targets with whom they have been engaging in talks.

''It should not come as a surprise. We have been engaging some good players in other departments, and before the close of this mid-season window, we may decide to pen a deal with them.’’

This even as Rachier dismissed any talks with their former striker Benson Omalla, who was widely rumored to be making a possible return to the record champions camp.

Rachier says they had released Omalla, and even now that he has terminated his contract with his latest Lebanese side, Al Safa SC, the path is unclear, and the team is avoiding any possible sanctions from FIFA.

‘’We have not talked with him. The position of his contract with the Lebanese side Al Safa is still opaque, and engaging him at the moment can possibly hand us FIFA sanctions,’’ added Rachier

He, however, says he was a dependable player, and should his record be set straight by Al Safa SC, the club can still consider having him back in the future. 

Omalla reportedly terminated his contract with Al Safa SC after failing to get his payments for three consecutive months.

Gor Mahia will play guests to AFC Leopards at the Nyayo National Stadium on March 2 in a rescheduled Mashemeji derby, which will also be one of the test matches at the venue ahead of the much anticipated CHAN tournament to be co-hosted by Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania in August 2025.

The two sides last met in April 2024, when Gor carried the bragging rights courtesy of a solitary Austin Odhiambo strike following a Leopards goalkeeper Levis Opiyo’s blunder.

Last week, Coach Mihic insisted he was right when he tested some of the players regularly unused by the previous coaches, saying he intended to give them an opportunity to prove if they deserved to be in the first eleven.