Ex-Rayon Sports’ Goncalves outlines winning strategy for Gor Mahia

New Gor Mahia head Oliveira Goncalves has outlined how he is going to help the Kenyan Premier League champions remain a competitive club.

Robertinho, as the Brazilian is known widely, is coming at a time expectations are high on him to deliver trophies as the previous three coaches did.

The former Rayon Sports coach was appointed to succeed Steven Polack, whose contract with the club was mutually terminated last week after one season in charge.

“A big club and Gor Mahia, for example, have objectives and have experience in the Champions League and in the local championship but I think we need good preparations to handle this good project,” Goncalves told the club’s Online TV.

“We need the players, the coach and everyone's desire on the bigger objective.

“I need to work on my style step by step because every coach has a style and I have my own. I trust my players too much and before everything I respect my players but again they must respect me.

“I hope to start a good relationship in order to help the players seize the opportunity and show their capacity. It is not about picking eleven players to start the game but they must show me during the week why they should start.

“As a Brazilian coach and a former player, I have my own characteristics, I trust my job and during the week I work for my players until Saturday. On Sunday, they will have to work for me and the club.”

He has over 25 years of experience in football management and revealed he had many other offers before he accepted the Gor Mahia one.

“I accepted the proposal because the president [chairman Ambrose Rachier] is a good man and I like so much about the style of play of Gor Mahia,” he added.

“This is the main reason I accepted the offer even though I had two or three offers to come back to Africa when I was in Brazil but I could not take them.

“When Gor Mahia called, I immediately remembered how I played against them in the Cecafa Cup and in a Caf Confederation Cup tie and that made it easy for me to accept the offer.”

The Brazilian denied the Green Army a chance to qualify for the Confederation Cup quarter-finals in 2018 after Rayon Sports picked up a 2-1 win at Kasarani.