The law enforcers will carry Kenya’s flag at the lucrative inter-club competition scheduled to kick off in September by virtue of winning their first-ever league title. Police were crowned champions with a game to spare following their 1-0 victory against Shabana on Sunday, June 15th.
However, they had to wait until the final day of the season, on June 22nd, to receive the trophy after their fixture against champions Gor Mahia, which ended in a 1-1 draw. Police won the league with 65 points, six more than second-placed K’Ogalo, while Kakamega Homeboyz came third with 58 points.
Policed under Burundian Etienne Ndayiragije won the league in style. They were lying at the bottom of the 18-team league table after the opening nine matches of the season, a performance that forced the management to fire coaches Anthony Kimani and Salim Babu.
Ndayiragije then took over at the end of November with the team stuck in 17th place and battling against relegation. The former Burundi national team and Azam FC of Tanzania coach, eventually managed to turn things around, brought stability, and went on to guide the team to a historic first-ever league title.
Police managed 18 wins, 11 draws and suffered five defeats while Gor Mahia secured 16 wins, 11 draws, and lost seven matches.
Top on the list should be a lethal striker
Ahead of their first appearance in the Champions League campaign, former AFC Leopards and Harambee Stars midfielder Charles Okwemba has urged Police to make sure that they beef up their squad with focus on the striking department.
According to the 45-year-old, taking part in the CAF competition will require a competitive side that can easily win matches. He further said that to have a successful campaign, it can only be achieved with an experienced squad that has tested the biggest stage before.
“Congratulations to them (for winning the league), and I am very sure they definitely know the areas to strengthen after going through the entire season, but top on the list should be a lethal striker, a 20-plus goals per season kind of striker if they want to have a successful campaign in CAF competition,” Okwemba told Flashscore.
In the just-concluded season, Police managed 38 goals from 34 matches and conceded 17. Gor Mahia scored the highest number in 47 and conceded 24, while the list number of goals were 21, scored by Bidco United.
“Do you think with the current squad they already have, they can go past the group stage of Champions League?” Okwemba posed a question before adding: “To go past the group stages, there’s no shortcut, they must beef up the squad with high-profile signings from outside Kenya and the best within the country.”
Apart from bringing in new faces, Okwemba believes Police will have to secure friendly matches against top African opponents to gauge their preparedness before the Champions League group stage campaign gets underway.
“Top friendly matches should be another priority, even if it means securing friendly matches with teams in Europe, it will be great for the technical bench to see how ready they are, they can also travel across the borders and play build-up matches over there,” offered Okwemba.
“Teams from our neighbouring Tanzania, especially Simba SC and Young Africans (Yanga SC) have enjoyed great success in the inter-club competitions in recent years, and Police should check out with them on what they need to do to excel past the obvious first or second round eliminations.”
Okwemba continued: “The office should ensure players’ fitness and conditioning performance levels are improved to last the entire match period, unlike now, where some of the burnout, especially in the second half. The technical bench should work on imparting a winning mentality to the players.”
However, Okwemba reserved praise for Police management for the good job they had done to dethrone Gor Mahia to the league title, insisting with the same spirit, they have what it takes to prepare the team to a successful Champions League campaign.
“They seem to be enjoying massive financial support from their employer and some sponsors, so I strongly believe that knowing the importance of playing in the Champions League, the same management will double their efforts to make sure the team performs better, I really don’t have any fear with that because they have already proved it by winning the league,” explained Okwemba.
Last season, Police took part in the CAF Confederation Cup following their success in winning the domestic FKF Cup, but they failed to make it past the second preliminary round. In the first preliminary round, they came up against Ethiopian Coffee.
The first leg in Nairobi ended in a 0-0 draw before Police won the return leg 1-0 away in Addis Ababa to qualify 1-0 on aggregate and book a date with Zamalek of Egypt in the second preliminary round. Against the North Africans, Police lost the first leg 1-0 in Nairobi before losing the return leg in Cairo 2-1 and 3-1 on aggregate to exit the competition.
Gor Mahia lacked cutting edge when it mattered
According to Okwemba, Gor Mahia’s bid to win a third consecutive Premier League title could not be achieved because they lacked quality in some crucial areas, and was worsened by problems that plagued the technical bench.
K’Ogalo endured a frustrating start to the season, which saw them fire Brazilian coach Leonardo Martins Neiva with only six matches played, owing to a string of poor results. Martins Neiva was replaced by assistants Zedekiah ‘Zico’ Otieno and Michael Nam, who were promoted but on an interim basis.
“Gor Mahia struggled this season because they lacked the cutting edge when it mattered the most, they lacked quality in some crucial areas/departments, and coupled with the issues they had with their technical bench/department,” said Okwemba.
On the change of guard at the top of the Premier League after two seasons, Okwemba said: “Change of guard at the top is a good, because it will perhaps awaken the rest of the sleeping giants, they’ll perhaps want to come back stronger, and challenge Police for the title next season.”
Apart from Police, other teams that have already qualified for the Champions League include Al Ahly SC, RS Berkane, AS FAR, Pyramids FC, Esperance Sportive de Tunis, US Monastir, Mamelodi Sundowns, Orlando Pirates, Simba SC, Young Africans, Rahimo, FC Nouadhibou, Al Hilal, Al Merreikh, Petro Atletico, Remo Stars, Vipers SC, Mangasport, Fassell, Lioli, and Aigle Noir.
