Gor Mahia coach Steven Polack has sensationally claimed he has made countless trips to the club’s chairman office to persuade him to pay the players and the technical bench accrued salaries.
The Kenyan champions are among the clubs in the top-flight that have faced difficulties to pay salaries since betting firm SportPesa withdrew their support for the Kenyan Premier League (KPL) earlier this season.
Apart from withdrawing support for the top-tier, SportPesa also stopped its financial support for Gor Mahia and rivals AFC Leopards, forcing the two giants to struggle and have since lost a number of key players.
As it stands, Gor Mahia and AFC Leopards are owing players’ salaries amounting to four months and with the league suspended indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic, most players have struggled to pay house rents and have even been thrown out.
Gor Mahia's Ghanaian import Jackson Owusu is among the players who have been hit hard by the club’s financial situation, as he was kicked out of the hotel he was staying in while one player, who did not want to be named, told Goal he had also been evicted from his house for non-payment of rent.
The British coach has now told Goal he is suffering the same way the players are suffering and accused those saying he does not care about his players’ of spreading false information.
“That is false, that is false [those saying I don’t care about my players], I am at the chairman’s office every day talking and delivering the plight of my players, every day, have been there every day for the last six weeks, I think maybe I have only missed one day,” Polack explained to Goal on Monday.
“I am there every day, pushing and asking them [officials] questions and explaining to the chairman how my players are suffering and telling them the situation about the players, myself and the technical staff and so that is the situation.
“The players saying I don’t help them are just spreading false accusations which is not good and secondly, I am the coach and I don’t pay the salary so why should they keep blaming me?
“I am the coach and I also understand people out there saying I should help the player, yes…I am pushing, I am pushing and I always get the same answers [from the office] but I am still pushing.”
Gor Mahia were crowned champions for the 2019-20 season by Football Kenya Federation (FKF) after they moved to end the season owing to Covid-19 and they will represent Kenya in the Caf Champions League next season.
