Afcon: Sebastien Migne tells off local coaches and demands respect for Harambee Stars

Harambee Stars coach Sebastien Migne has told off local coaches over their unending criticism aimed at the team.

In recent weeks, a number of top Kenyan Premier League (KPL) coaches showed their displeasure in the squad picked for the Africa Cup of Nations finals, with others urging coach Migne to get his selections right or the team will fail terribly in Egypt.

But responding to those claims, coach Migne has challenged the local coaches to respect his job, saying it was not the same as handling a domestic side.

“I am surprised to hear some comments from local coaches, who are also my colleagues but I need to tell them that coaching the national team is not like coaching Harambee Stars,” Migne told Goal after naming his final squad of 27 players for the tournament.

“We should respect one person’s job and I don’t care what they say. I can only do my job looking at the players who have impressed me during their league matches and those who do well in camp but not because one coach is keen or advocating for players from his side to make the squad.

“I am the one in charge of the national team for now and they (coaches) should wait for their time to come. I am the one handling the team and will take responsibility for the team's performance if we get it right or wrong at Afcon.”

Migne also defended the decision to take the team’s training camp to his native country, France.

“I am very proud to take my team to France which turns to be my home. I am very proud of that because in France we will at least have two training sessions a day,” Migne continued.

“My best friend coach (Sebastien Desabre of Uganda) told me on phone today (Thursday) that they cannot train twice a day in Abu Dhabi because it is very hot. So I will have the advantage in France because the weather there is not very hot and will be good to train my team.

“I am not worried because we still have three more weeks to put things right in France. I will still look at the squad that I have named again and again as I did in the past few weeks since we started training."

Kenya have been drawn in Group C at the Africa Cup of Nations, which kicks off on June 21.

The Harambee Stars will begin their Afcon campaign against Algeria, before meeting Tanzania and Senegal as they look to reach the knockout stages.