Gor Mahia coach Steven Polack has revealed he is keen to keep fit-again defender Philemon Otieno at the club.
The Harambee Stars defender missed most of the first round of the Kenyan Premier League (KPL) season after injuring his leg while playing for the national team in the Africa Nations Championship (Chan) qualifying match against Tanzania in Dar es Salaam.
The injury to the defender provoked some bad blood between Gor Mahia and Football Kenya Federation (FKF) as the player took some time to undergo an operation.
However, the intervention of friends helped the defender to undergo a successful knee operation and he has now resumed training with the Kenyan champions after recovering.
But the worst part is Otieno’s contract with Gor Mahia ended in January and according to coach Polack he has asked the management to tie him down to another deal.
“I want to keep Philemon [Otieno], he returned to training on Monday and the player looks sharp despite being out injured for the last six months or so,” Polack told Goal.
“I have talked to the management and I want them to tie him down to a new deal, even give him two more years because he is a kind of a player who can help us in the second round of the league.”
Polack also confirmed the return to training of defender Wellington Ochieng, whose last match for the club came in the Caf Confederation League fixture against DC Motema Pembe of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
“[Wellington] is back, he is also training but I have to give him some time to see how he responds, but so far he has not complained of any pain,” Polack continued.
“I don’t think I will have him ready for the weekend match against Bandari, that might be too soon for him but he looks good and soon he will get a starting role.”
Ahead of the clash against Bandari on Saturday, Polack told Goal: “I always say we want to win all our matches and it is the motto heading into the match. We want to win our matches to make sure we return to the top.
“People always say Bandari are our bogey side, they said the same during the reverse fixture and we went ahead to beat them at their backyard. We will strive to win the match again since are the home team.”
The clash against Bandari will be played at Afraha Stadium in Nakuru.
