Kerr scratches head on team formation ahead of Caf duty

With only five days to their Caf- Champions League opener against Equatorial Guinea’s Vegetariaons, Gor Mahia head coach Dylan Kerr has conceded he is yet to establish his best 11 in the new season.

The 16-time Kenyan Premier League (KPL) champions signed quality players in the preseason bringing in stiff competition in the team that has left the Briton scratching his head in team selection.

Among them, is returnee Kelvin Omondi, Harambee Stars trialists Wesley Onguso, Samuel Onyango, Charles Momanyi, Ivorian Ephrem Guikan and former Tusker FC duo Humphrey Mieno and Cercidy Okeyo.

Speaking to Citizen Digital after their 4-0 demolition of Nakumatt FC in the 2018 league debut in Machakos, Kerr, however, expressed confidence in his vast squad saying every member has his place in the team.

“You got it right, it’s not easy to know who to start because the competition is very high. Every coach wants to start with the best and that has to be shown in training.

“The preseason matches can never give you the clear picture of the players, you need four to five matches of competitive matches to start making conclusions. You saw the adrenaline in the players in today’s match (against Nakumatt) was quite higher,” averred Kerr.

In the match, Kerr started with four of the new faces, Mieno, Onguso, Onyango and Omondi, while Okeyo and Guikan were thrown into the fray in the second half.

According to Kerr, the team has a lot to do to show the real potential in competitive matches.

” Sometimes I tell them not to let themselves down. I’ve seen fascinating displays in training, and I know they can deliver the same against any opponent. Why they fail, I don’t know.

“This is part of the things you consider as you select who to play where, so we will have to instil this spirit of delivery on the field of play as it indicated during training,” Kerr emphasized.

On Tuesday morning, the team returns to Machakos where they face Sudan giants Al Hilal in their last warm-up to Saturday’s continental duty at 4:00 PM EAT (+3GMT), at the Kenyatta Stadium, Machakos.

Hilal is in the country for a series of friendlies, and has already lost 4-2 to AFC Leopards in their first fixture.

Gor CEO Lordvick Aduda called on fans to turn up in large numbers to psyche up the team against the Sudanese, saying even fans should use the match as a dress rehearsal for Saturday’s big day.

“All plans are in place for the match, it’s an international affair so let fans come and show a template for Saturday,” Aduda said.

Continental venture

For Kerr, just like the Super Cup win against Leopards was followed with the emphatic thrashing of Nakumatt, the continental venture must be started on a high gear.

“On Saturday we have one thing to do – start well. I don’t know anything about this team, I have tried to find information from any possible source but there very little to speak about.

“We, therefore, have to respond to them the way they play on the material day. That means open-mindedness and maximum concentration,” concluded Kerr.