Departing Gor Mahia head coach Johnny McKinstry has taken a slight dig at Cooperate clubs in his farewell message to the club.
McKinstry is on the verge of becoming the Gambia national team head coach with talks said to have commenced last week and is likely to join them once the current FKF Premier League season is over.
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On Tuesday, while reflecting on his two-year stint with Gor, the Irishman took a dig at cooperate clubs stating that they didn’t have any history his team had in the Kenyan top tier.
“Gor Mahia is one of the biggest clubs in Africa. There are modern and cooperative clubs popping up around the world. They might be successful but their links with the community and the history of the game isnt’t there. They don’t have the roots of the club.
“What attracted me to be here is how the roots of the club are grown deeply in the community here in Kenya, especially in Western Kenya. It’s something that families and children are born to. It’s something that I have felt. The depth of connection between the club and the community is really intense. It’s something I have really enjoyed. It’s not easy because when the desire for success is on you, it brings a level of pressure but it’s something I wanted because it raised our game as a group,” McKinstry said in his farewell interview with the club.
Reflecting on his first days at the club, the former Rwanda national team coach added: “People I spoke to about the Gor Mahia job didn’t want me to come because of the risks that came with it. They said the club was no longer a football powerhouse that they used to be and I was arriving too at a time when they had a transfer ban. Most people thought it was a huge risk moving here because I was expected to win every day despite the challenges they were facing.
“I knew what I was bringing to the club and I think they needed someone to bring them together (like filling a jigsaw). There was a time we had seven players in training due to financial issues when I arrived and I was even told to cancel training when the players were less but my job was to work with what I had and make it better. I wanted to instil the belief that we could do it. I was always thinking forward and I think the players and staff joined me in this,” he added.
Gor Mahia’s attention now has shifted to continental duties where they will represent Kenya in the CAF Champions League after being ousted from the last competition after failing to pay some of their former players on time.
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