Gor Mahia official Sam Ochola has stated his recent ‘handshake’ with chairman Ambrose Rachier will help bring the club ‘back to normal.’
The two officials went into war at the end of last year after Ochola signed an endorsement letter to back the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) and broadcast partners StarTimes deal, a move which irked Rachier, who said the club was not aware.
Rachier went further to suspend the official and since then, they have been pulling in different directions with the war culminating with the team’s poor preparations for the two-legged Caf Champions League clash against CR Belouizdad from Algeria.
Gor Mahia have already been bundled out of the competition after losing the tie on an 8-1 aggregate scoreline, losing the first leg 6-0 away in Algiers before succumbing to a 2-1 defeat in the return leg played in Nairobi.
Before the return leg clash, the two officials shook hands and confirmed they had buried the hatchet a situation which Ochola now says will help bring normality into the club’s management.
“It was necessary we do a handshake and I am happy it happened for the sake of this great club,” Ochola told Goal on Friday. “I can now confirm I don’t have any issues with the chairman and we are all at the club chasing our course.
“I also want to confirm that all the officials are working as a team and we don’t have issues with each other, I also want to tell our fans that our style of management will now change for the better, it is a shame we have been going through the problems we did but I want to say they have all reached a dead end.
“It was not a handshake for pictures, it was handshake to bring us together and also bring the team together, we don’t want to see our players suffering, we don’t want to see the problems we have been experiencing, we want to start on a clean slate and you will see a big difference.”
Ochola was selected to his post during the club’s last elections held in August where Rachier returned unopposed as the chairman.
After being dumped out of the Champions League, K'Ogalo will now shift their focus to defending the FKF Premier League title where they are scheduled to face Kariobangi Sharks on Sunday.
Gor Mahia have already played two matches since the 2020-21 season kicked off – beating Ulinzi Stars 2-1 before losing 2-1 against Tusker.
