KOgalo a fortnight away from top form-Ouna

Assistant coach Frank Ouna reckons SportPesa Premier League champion Gor Mahia will back to their sizzling best within a fortnight as he blamed their indifferent start to their title defence on a patchy pre-season.

Speaking to Citizen on Monday, Ouna also declared their ambitions in the CAF Champions League were not buried by the damaging 2-1 home defeat as they prepare to travel to Madagascar for the second leg of their preliminary round against CNaPS later this week.

He further maintained first choice custodian, Boniface Oluoch is recovering from a back injury that has kept him out of the side for the last two games saying the player’s much publicized spat with head coach, Frank Nutall, was just a ‘heated dressing room argument.’

“It’s a testament of the fragmented pre-season we had. So as coaches we are not worried since we know it’s a matter of time, probably two weeks from today and we will hit our top most gear,” Ouna charged.

K’Ogalo who steamrolled to the SPL title last season unbeaten are yet to win a game in 2016, with two league draws and the morale-sapping loss to CNaPs.

They also lost 1-0 to early log leaders Bandari in the DStv Super Cup.

“I think there’s nothing to worry about. We are in control of everything, the kind of performance we have been putting in, if you observe the Bandari, Chemelil and now the Posta Rangers games, we keep improving and going up,” the recently appointed Harambee Stars third coach affirmed.

“We had players coming in at different times during pre-season and it affects since you expect them to work as a unit. We are just two weeks away to completing the normally six weeks of pre season with everybody in.”

Ouna stated Gor will only get stronger when absent players among them record signing Jacques Tuyisenge from Burundi who is out with a groin injury, return to first team action.

K’Ogalo lost former Stars winger, George ‘Blackberry’ Odhiambo in their 1-1 draw against Posta Rangers on Sunday to a bad injury that saw the referee award six minutes of added time with the latter scoring the leveller in the 95th to deny them victory at the death.

That saw Nuttal bring on Innocent Wafula who was making his first appearance of the season after reporting back to the team for pre-season late, midfielder Ali Abondo is still on trials in South Africa and Ugandan Godfrey Walusimbi is close to a return.

“Wafula had done only a few days, we had planned to play him only 20 minutes yesterday (Sunday) but unfortunately George got injured and he had to play for 45 and that is risky for us but we had our chances limited.

“Tuyisenge is yet to come, we are not sure about Ali and his situation in South Africa. Walusimbi should be back in the next five days, we expect Wafula to be fully fit and Tuyisenge to play in our next league game and Walusimbi to be okay and playing,” Ouna said.

Gor face CNaPs this weekend with the assistant coach stating they will go there to attack.

“The pressure will be on them since they are at home and are leading, they won’t be so sure whether to attack us or defend. Our focus is to go there and try to win the game, there is no way we can qualify if we don’t beat them and we can’t beat them if we don’t attack them.

“From the off, we will attack them as a fact, you can take that to the bank,” he charged.

The assistant team boss insisted the Olouch’s clash with Nutall that happened during the CNaPs game has been ‘blown out of proportion’ and the Stars keeper remains first choice at the club despite team captain Jerim Onyango putting a decent shift between the sticks in his place.

“Let me make it very clear. We’ve never had a case of indiscipline from Boni. To win the league unbeaten, there are always harsh words to be told to people and it is not limited to him. He sat out the Chemelil game because he had a slight back problem.

“He came back to training one day before the Rangers game. On merit, he deserved to be on the bench since Jerim had played and tended goal in the Chemelil game had trained,” Ouna underpinned.

Report by John Kyanda and Geoffrey Mwamburi