Coach Migne tells Olunga challengers to step up

Harambee Stars head coach Sebastien Migne has dared his strikers to prove to him that they deserve a slot ahead of Michael Olunga.

The French tactician threw the challenge directly at Masoud Juma and Jesse Were to grab the opportunity to impress in the absence of the injured Olunga.

Were has often been unable to replicate his explosive club form with the national team where he has lived under the shadow of Olunga while Masoud is only returning to the team after spells in the cold.

“The deal with the players is to show me their quality. Some of them will have that opportunity, for example Masoud (Juma) will play. It will be a good opportunity for him to prove to me he can compete with (Michael) Olunga next time.”

The Frenchman says all the players have reported  to the camp with the exception of Brian Mandela and David Sesay who according to Migne turned down the call-up to help his fourth tier English club Crawley Town in their fight to avoid relegation.

“Sesay refused to come. He is in a difficult situation with his club in the English league. He is under pressure to stay there and avoid relegation with his club. I respect it but I cannot wait for him.”

Meanwhile, Stars captain Victor Wanyama says their dead rubber clash against Ghana should be viewed as a good opportunity to gauge their progression under coach Migne.

Both teams have already secured their tickets for the African Cup of Nations finals in Egypt but Wanyama says they must continue to fight and use Ghana as a litmus test of their preparedness.

Kenya shocked Ghana 1-0 in the reverse clash in Nairobi and the four-time AFCON champions will be keen to avenge for their loss in Accra where they clash on Saturday.

“Ghana is a very good team and it is a big challenge to us because we can learn a lot from the match. We are also looking to build our momentum towards the tourney, so we want to perform well and get a good result,” he said.

Olunga, Spain-based defender Aboud Omar and striker Ayub Timbe are some of the high profile names set to miss the continental showdown in Accra, through injury or suspension.

Olunga is sidelined with a hamstring he picked up a week ago in a Japanese league match in he was on target to hand his side Kashiwa Reysoll 1-0 win Albirex Niiga while fellow forward Ayub Masika Timbe who plies his trade with Chinese side Beijing is recovering from a knee surgery he underwent in January.

Heading into the final match of the qualifiers, Kenya are atop group F on seven points against Ghana’s six and a point over the weekend will be enough for Migne’s lads to secure top spot.