Former Gor Mahia striker Ronad Okoth has said Patrick Aussems’ exit at AFC Leopards is a big blow to the Football Kenya Federation Premier League side.
After months of speculation, the Belgian coach finally left the Den as he confirmed he would not be renewing his contract with the 1998 Premier League champions.
To Okoth, the exit is set to be a disadvantage to Ingwe because, he claims, the former Simba SC head coach was on the right path in leading the club back to its glory days.
“Aussems leaving the Den is a big blow; he clearly had a long-term plan to turn Leopards into a title-winning side, going by the beautiful football style of play blueprint he had already started to insert,” Okoth said in a statement.
Initially, the former KCB and Sofapaka striker had implored AFC Leopards not to let go of Aussems, especially after leading the club to a rare win against Gor Mahia in the second round of last season.
“If you look at the type of football they are playing at the moment, it is very entertaining,” Okoth said then.
“It is a nice style of football, but even though they sometimes do not get the results they want, you can see the beautiful football they are playing.
“There is nothing more rewarding than the kind of football you are playing giving you results, especially after beating sworn enemies after seven years.”
As AFC Leopards are now set to hunt for a new head coach, Okoth, who has been training junior players at grassroots levels, jokingly offered himself for the vacant position at the Den.
“Anyway, I am available to take up the job and continue where he [Aussems] left off. I believe our time will eventually come. In the meantime, we keep working at it,” he added.
Eyes are now on Dan Shikanda’s led board at AFC Leopards to see who they are going to settle for as their next coach.
