Kimanzi says Stars must beat Namibia

By Gilbert Wandera

Harambee Stars coach Francis Kimanzi has declared their clash against Namibia on Saturday as "a must win tie" saying they will not depend on the results between Zimbabwe and Guinea.

"We want to put our destiny in our own hands. And to do so, we must beat the Namibians on Saturday," Kimanzi said. "I know they have a new coach, which means they have a new way of thinking. That alone should make the clash difficult, but there are no two ways about it. We cannot afford to lose," he added.

Germinal Beerschot striker Victor Mugabe is unavailable for this weekend’s 2010 World Cup/Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Namibia.

Mugabe was ruled out after he failed to link up with the rest of the squad at the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani.

Harambee Stars head coach, Francis Kimanzi, revealed the player could not come to Nairobi following complications in his travel documents.

"Mugabe is not coming for the match although we had hoped to try him out. It is not a big blow to us since we have not used him in this campaign," said Kimanzi.

In the absence of Mugabe, Kimanzi has called up Mahakama striker, Francis Chinjili.

Contacted, Mugabe’s father, Noah Wanyama, said his son’s manager refused to release him for fear that he would not go back.

new contract

"There were fears that he may not return to Belgium and so his agents held on to him. He will be available for the Guinea match," said Wanyama.

Wanyama said having just signed a new contract with the Belgium club, the agents are keen that he plays his first match for the team in the next two weeks.

The Stars’ coach also downplayed the absence of AJ Auxerre striker, Dennis Oliech, who is suspended after picking two yellow cards during Guinea and Zimbabwe matches.

"We don’t focus on individuals but on the team as a whole. In the past, we have to do without key players," he said in reference to McDonald Mariga and Patrick Oboya, who missed the June 21 return match against Zimbabwe in Harare.

With three days before the match, Kimanzi has intensified his training, focussing on different departments of the team in training.

In the last two days, the team has had at least nine sessions starting at 6.30a.m. The sessions focus on the goalkeeping, defence, midfield and striking force separately with one session bringing together the whole team in the evening.

Kimanzi is equally excited about playing at Kasarani on Saturday saying it favours his side.

"When we played our first match in Namibia the stadium was smaller, but this time we want to double everything for them. The stadium is bigger with more fans and will give us space to play while being a disadvantage to our opponents who may not be used to such," he added.

Full house

Team captain Robert Mambo joined the team Tuesday morning as the camp registered a full house for the first time.

He came in a few hours after other foreign-based players, Mariga (Parma, Italy), George Owino (Yanga, Tanzania), Allan Wanga (Petro Atletico, Angola), Jamal Mohammed (Enkorrping, SK, Sweden) and Patrick Oboya (FK Siad Most, Czech).

KND sponsor Stars

Namibia coach says his team is under no pressure