Sofapaka head coach John Baraza has claimed Kenyan strikers have always been overwhelmed by pressure and end up not performing.
Baraza, a retired forward who won three Kenyan Premier League Golden Boots in his heyday, said lack of psychological strength from Kenyans to work under pressure has seen many clubs prefer foreign strikers.
In the recent past, Dan Sserunkuma, Meddie Kagere, Bob Mugalia, Abdul Razak and Umaru Kasumba are foreign strikers who were signed by different clubs and performed, goal-scoring wise.
“It is not that Kenya is lacking clinical strikers as you are aware most of our strikers are going for greener pastures in other countries,” Baraza told Standard Sports.
“Most of the experienced strikers we are plying their trade abroad, that’s why we need to give those around time to grow.
“We have a few strikers around but the problem is that they can’t withstand the pressure of delivering in each match.
"As a striker, you are not required to play five matches or so without scoring, that’s the pressure that overwhelms most of our players.”
The 2004 Afcon scorer for the Harambee Stars against Burkina Faso explained why the striking department requires high-level performance and strong personalities.
“Remember, strikers are always on demand and that’s why when our players leave we have to look for their replacement,” he added.
“Striking is different from other positions and one gets better with age and experience. At the moment we are experiencing a generational change in KPL and a new crop of strikers are coming up, but it will take time before they get the experience and adapt to the demands of playing in a topflight league.
“I think we will have another group of quality strikers in the next two years or so because most of them are still young and learning the ropes.”
Former Harambee Stars captain Musa Otieno, however, said having players abroad works well especially for the national team.
“The more players we have abroad the better for our football because one day we will need them,” Otieno said.
“I’m happy with what is happening with the Harambee Starlets players. That experience from different leagues will be invaluable to our national teams soon.
“At least things are changing and we can now compete with the best in the continent without parking the bus as we did in the past.”
Both Otieno and Baraza were Harambee Stars players during the 2004 Afcon edition in Tunisia.