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KENYA
NIGERIA
Who would have thought we would be at this juncture?
The national team Harambee Stars are in camp, with plenty of change in the air.
There are different outlooks to the side as a whole, since the last time we saw them in competitive action in June this year.
Back then, Francis Kimanzi was the head coach, while I was a part of the technical bench too.
Also then, half the players who are in the current squad were also either not in the frame or considered for duty altogether.
That was then, now things have changed.
New coach
Now, there is a new coach in town, a foreign one to be exact.
Frenchman Henri Michel has arrived with a huge pedigree and a reputation that very few coaches around the world can match.
With him, are a couple of new coaches, as well as a different approach to doing things.
Furthermore, the federation is handling the new regime differently and professionally. It is good to see the Stars going in the right direction for once.
It is a new dawn.. a new era.
Changes
With Michel, we have seen a number of changes to the Stars playing set-up.
There are a couple of new players and again, he has picked up the policy of calling up players from the big clubs primarily, which is something that has not happened here in a long time.
It means that the best performing players from the best performing clubs, get a chance to play for the side, which s a good place to start.
Added to those, is one or two players from the smaller clubs, those with pedigree, those who have played well for their clubs irrespective of their status.
It is a relatively new team and a different mindset.
Need time
Next week, they play the South African national team in a friendly match here in Nairobi.
I would just like to ask Kenyans to be patient with the team and not go to the Nyayo Stadium expecting victory or Brazilian Samba... They should have open minds.
A win will be all good, but a loss also won't be too bad because we are starting afresh.
There, we will see some new faces and new people, let's give them a chance to build slowly and lay the foundations for a new and better team.
I can guarantee you that you will see plenty of changes in the coming months, so brace for it and embrace it.
Promising
For a start, the future looks promising.
At other times, there will be setbacks and issues, but as fans, you have to keep the faith.
The new coach has started well and looks happy, as do FKF who have offered him alot of support, if the players do the same and I beleive they will, it will be left to us the fans to support them, especially in the time of need.
It is now up to us Kenyans to give the team a chance, the new players hope.
They need your support.
