Aussems away on ‘short holiday’, says Shikanda as he moves to stem fan unrest

AFC Leopards head coach Patrick Aussems will return to Nairobi after two to three weeks after a ‘short holida’ in his native Belgium, club chairman Dan Shikanda has assured fans.

There have been fears within club quarters that the former Simba SC tactician could have ditched the club after flying to his home country with two matches remaining to the end of the 2020-2021 season.

According to Shikanda,  Aussems left for ‘just a short holiday’ since the two matches that were remaining could not have had no bearing on their table standings by close of season.

“The coach {Patrick Aussems} will be back in about two to three weeks’ time so that he may be able to have time to prepare the boys for the new season ahead.

Because the break is too short and the league will be starting September 25 and the remaining matches were not a title winning matches even if we had won by 100-0 scoreline it would have changed nothing,” Shikanda explained.

The 12-time champions did not however manage a top three finish they had hoped for after Bandari beat  Wazito 2-0 on the final day while the big cats fell  3-2 to Kakamega Homeboyz.

Leopards’ assistant coach Tom Juma has been in charge of the team in their last two matches registering a 1-1 draw against KCB before the weekend defeat Homeboyz.

After losing the CAF Confederations ticket to Tusker and CAF Confederations Cup  slot to Gor Mahia, Ingwe had surrendered the title quest but their bid for a third-place finish also went up in smoke as they settled for fourth on 48 points behind Bandari at third on 53.

With the new season scheduled to kick off on September 25, Aussems and the club have set the league title their priority but we will wait to see whether the French-born who is now living in Belgium will return to link up with his team.