The Cypriot-Turkish tactician is critical of K’Ogalo’s display in first leg of their Caf Champions League tie at Stadedu 5 Juillet 1962 Stadium
Ex-coach Hassan Oktay has claimed Gor Mahia were very lucky to return from Algeria with a 6-0 defeat against CR Belouizdad.
The Kenyan champions came up against the North African giants in the Caf Champions League playoffs, and the first leg they suffered a 6-0 defeat before they lost 2-1 at home in the return leg to exit on an 8-1 aggregate scoreline.
The Cypriot-Turkish tactician, who helped the team reach the quarter-finals of the Confederation Cup for the first time in history in 2019, has now told Goal K’Ogalo should be thankful because they only lost by a 6-0 margin, insisting the level of the game displayed by their opponents meant they deserved to lose 10-0.
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“They should thank their God because the game was supposed to end 10-0 or even more,” Oktay told Goal while pointing at the number of chances CR Belouizdad squandered at home.
“It was a gift to Gor Mahia because the embarrassment was not as huge as it was supposed to be.
“They were very lucky but in the return leg, at least they [Gor Mahia] showed some improvement and played very well, it was a tight game and it was better football from them but the problem was, the damage had already been done from the first leg.”
Asked to explain what the problem could be at the club, Oktay said: “Gor Mahia are simply suffering because they don’t keep their key players in every transfer window. If you want to compete at the highest level, you must keep your best players and your technical bench intact, and also move to sign potential players to make your team stronger and better.
“But that is not the case at Gor Mahia, they are losing key players every window and in return sign more than 15, spoiling consistency in the process.
“Somebody told me they signed players from Western Stima [during the last window], and then allowed their good players to go, they should strive to keep their best players, someone like Harun [Shakava], Francis [Kahata], Lawrence Juma, and Boniface [Omondi] did not deserve to leave the club.
“Why do you sell your best players and then go sign from Western Stima, a team which is not at the level of Gor Mahia?
On who should take the blame for the current mess at the club, Oktay, who won the league title with K’Ogalo in the 2018-19 season, said: “I am not blaming the chairman or anyone because sometimes if players want to go you cannot keep them.
“But you should need to find the reason why they want to go, why they are not happy at the club, and then solve the problems before you lose them.”
Oktay has also maintained a club of Gor Mahia’s status needs to have their own training facility, saying it will go a long way to help them in getting good results.
“For me, Gor Mahia needs to focus and build their own stadium and training facility and even have one for the youth team,” the 47-year-old continued.
“For a team to do well in Caf competitions, you need such facilities, and also for a team to go out there and bring money from Champions League, you have to keep your best players.”
After losing their Champions League clash, Gor Mahia dropped to the Confederation Cup, where they have been pitted against Napsa Stars of Zambia in the playoff for a spot in the group stage.
Gor Mahia have also struggled in the league, as they have lost two matches from their opening three, managing to win one against Tusker.
