Harambee Stars head coach Jacob 'Ghost' Mulee has revealed why they went for South Sudan for a pre-African Cup of Nations qualifiers friendly tie.
Kenya will face the Bright Stars on Saturday in Nairobi and Mulee has said the decision to have them as friendly opponents was made because they were available outside the Fifa international break.
"They stunned Uganda in November in Nairobi during an Afcon qualifier and that is a big statement," Mulee told Goal.
"Kenya would always want to play top teams like Algeria or Nigeria but we have to understand this is done outside the Fifa window.
"That is why we were able to at least get the three games and play them outside the Fifa week and give the local players an opportunity to gauge them."
The former Tusker head coach also revealed the state of preparation they have had and what their targets are for the South Sudan and Tanzania friendlies.
"Our preparations started three weeks ago and I have been having players from clubs from Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and then we have been releasing them thereafter," he explained.
"The sessions with the players have been quite impressive and when you see the local players gathered in two days then that gives one a lot of satisfaction given the response has been good too.
"The games we are going to play will help us gauge the local players and remember it has been a long time since we last played an international friendly. We are going into the game with just the hope of seeing how we can be able to play internationally."
Mulee confirmed Kariobangi Sharks goalkeeper Brian Bwire will not be available while they will wait for a late assessment on KCB's Michael Mutinda.
"Bwire has been injured for a very long time and that means we have not been with him and he will be out until April accordion to our doctors," he concluded. []Michael] Mutinda suffered a knock on Friday and we will wait to see what the doctors will say about him," he continued.
"We have a couple of midfielders like Collins Shichenje, Lawrence Juma, and Kenneth Muguna and we will use them just in case Mutinda does not make it. Every player that was called was summoned on merit because we have seen it in training and also in the games they have played for the clubs.
"We want to see whether what they have shown at the club level can be transferred to the national team and that is also why we have the friendlies."
After the South Sudan clash, Kenya will host Tanzania twice in Nairobi thereafter before playing Egypt.
