Gor Mahia boss offers different perspective on state of Kenyan league

Gor Mahia FC head coach Jonathan McKinstry has reacted to the recent marks made by Harambee Stars manager Engin Firat concerning the state of the national football league.

In an interview on Radio 47, Firat recently argued that the Football Kenya Federation Premier League (FKFPL) has remained stagnant as others in the region continue to improve.

He compared the FKFPL with the Tanzanian topflight league, claiming that talented players will do anything to secure a move to the latter because of the guaranteed benefits.

Play here and stand a chance of winning the over 354 Million SportPesa Mega Jackpot

“A few years back, the Kenyan league was among the top in the region but it has remained stagnant, while in Tanzania, the competition has grown with players earning huge salaries.

This is why many top local players prefer to play in Tanzania once they get a chance,” the Turkish citizen stated.

Firat’s argument led to a lot of debate among football fans in Kenya with Gor Mahia boss being among those who reacted to the comments.

According to McKinstry, any league in the world, especially in the African continent has the potential to become better.

ALSO READ: Austin Odhiambo: From AFC Leopards Youth hothead to Gor Mahia’s MVP

He urged those involved in the industry to always look on the positive side of things and try to enhance the level of football in the country.

“I think leagues like the Bundesliga, the English Premier League or La Liga do not have much improvement because they are already at the top of the world.

But other than that, there is another 205 leagues in the world that can improve. And that is the same here in Kenya. We can improve. But I also think if you are always looking for problems then you will never find the solutions.

If you are looking for the good things and you are looking for what we are good at and emphasizing on what a nation and a player are good at, we can build on that,” explained McKinstry.

ALSO READ: Muguna reveals reason behind controversial celebration against Gor Mahia

The tactician who has previously had spells with several national teams including Sierra Leone, Rwanda and Uganda further advised coaches to get the best out of the players they have because that is the only way they can improve the quality of football.

“It is about finding what a national game looks like and building on that. And so, everyone else can have their opinion. I think I have had a lot of success with national teams in the past.

Rwanda, Uganda, Sierra Leone and all of them, we posted sort of 50, 60 percent winning records. We won tournaments and all of that was working with what we had and trying to add on top of it as opposed to looking for problems,” he ended.

ALSO READ: SportPesa launch revolutionary Tujiamini Initiative to nurture talent