Harambee Stars head coach Sebastien Migne is ready to take criticism if his team fails to impress in the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon).
Migne has been under the spotlight since he picked his provisional squad of 30 players and did not choose Zesco United forward Jesse Were. The French tactician was also criticised when he dropped Allan Wanga from the Afcon-bound squad.
Both Were and Wanga were in stellar form for their respective clubs before they missed the opportunity to represent Kenya in Egypt.
“I know everyone is waiting to crucify me if Kenya does not perform well in Egypt but I don’t fear. I always follow my conviction and the results we experienced in the last year proves that I was right.”
“Some of those players I was being criticised for dropping had never won anything nor qualified the team to a major international tournament. Don’t tell me about the regional Council for East and Central Africa Football Association (Cecafa) Senior Challenge Cup," Migne told The Standard.
Migne also hinted that the players that Kenya has at the moment could dictate how far they will proceed in Egypt.
“Furthermore, apart from Victor Wanyama, Kenya does not have any other player in a top league in the world and even Michael Olunga is in division two in Japan. For this reason, we must be realistic about our expectations and I believe what we achieved was something to be celebrated instead of the negative criticism," he concluded.
Harambee Stars will battle against Algeria, Tanzania and Senegal in Group C in Africa's footballing biennial competition.
