Gor Mahia narrows list of new coach candidates to ten

Gor Mahia has shortlisted 10 tacticians from a long list of 53 applicants who had shown interest in replacing Jonathan McKinstry.

Club chairman Ambrose Rachier says they have been through in the process to ensure they get the right coach for the job.

Rachier, however, says they will only unveil the new coach once McKinstry bids farewell after June 23, 2024, when K’Ogalo plays its last FKF Premier League match.

McKinstry has already taken over the role of head coach for the Gambian national football team, following their mutual agreement with Gor Mahia, although his contract with the local league giants is yet to officially end.

“We have so far shortlisted ten coaches out of the long list of 53 applicants. We will be done with the process by the end of the week, but will only unveil the new coach after bidding farewell to McKinstry,” explained Rachier.

The chairman explained that they have looked into various critical areas including their previous successes with other clubs, especially at the continental level.

The selection team also dropped coaches who have previously worked in the country, some of whom were among the applicants.

“We have taken our time perusing their CVs to ensure we come up with the best from the long list. We were interested in their past performances and their level of coaching with various teams or countries,” said Rachier.

McKinstry's appointment as the Gambian National Team head coach came at a time when he had just guided Gor Mahia to bounce back to the regional and continental arena, by clinching a record 21st league title win this season. 

The first major assignment for the new coach would be the CECAFA Kagame Cup which kicks off on July 6, 2024 in Tanzania and Zanzibar, before heading to Enugu, Nigeria for an invitational tournament.

Meanwhile, Rachier has allayed fears that the club would not honour the Enugu Invitational Tournament commencing on August 1, 2024.

Rachier says the fears are no more since the CECAFA Kagame Cup tournament, whose dates were initially clashing with the Nigerian tournament, has been rescheduled to start earlier, saying they will honour the tournament in Nigeria.

“It is true the tournament’s dates could have clashed with the regional tournament. Right now the new dates as announced by CECAFA have given us the relief we wanted and I can assure you that we shall honour the tournament,” said Rachier.

In May 2024, Gor Mahia received an invitation to participate in the inaugural Coal City International Cup beginning in Enugu, Nigeria. The 8-team tournament is organized by the Enugu State Government.

Rachier had hinted that Gor will benefit from the tournament which will reward them at least Kshs.650,000 per match played apart from other winning bonuses.

Gor have three matches to go in the premier league despite having won the title this season. They will play against Sofapaka, Talanta and Bidco United to wrap up their season’s assignments.