Former Harambee Stars midfielder explains defeat in his Murang’a Seal coaching debut
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Reading Time: 3min | Tue. 21.04.26. | 11:07
Odhiambo was picked to succeed Osborne Monday, who was shown the door last week
Interim Murang'a Seal head coach Dennis Odhiambo had a rude welcome to the hot seat last Sunday as the club lost 4-2 to Nairobi United at St. Sebastian Park.
Odhiambo, taking the reins from former coach Osborne Monday, who has since rejoined his former side, Shabana FC, has cited lapses in concentration from the entire team for allowing Nairobi to rally from behind and snatch all three points.
‘’We had a good game, good start. Within twenty minutes, we were two goals up. There are, however, a few moments in which my players lacked concentration. There was a period when our opponents were on the ascendancy and all we had to do was slow down the game, but we learned from the mistakes,’’ said the former Kenyan International.
Odhiambo says of youngster Miachael Macharia, he has been promising from training, and his performance on Sunday didn’t surprise him.
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Commonly known as Shifta, Macharia scored a brace that proved not enough as Seal went down fighting.
‘’Attacking-wise, we were good, almost got the third goal in fact, but I can’t say the same for our defence. It is a department in which we have a lot of injuries. We will have to improve on how we handle ourselves in the box and take care of set pieces from the opponents. Macharia (Michael) has been splendid in training, and it was only a matter of time before he did it in a match. The forward line did great, and we will aim to build on their good performance,’’ he offered.
Nairobi United had Michael Karamor score the club’s only second hat-trick since formation, whereas Kevin Wangaya’s beautiful free-kick only added to the hosts' woes by the end of the match.
Seal sits 10th on the log, a massive 12 points above safety, having amassed a more than sufficient loot of points from the matches played.
Odhiambo adds that he has suffered a considerable injury hit from his squad, and that does play into results sometimes
‘’We do have a lot of injuries to key players, but I don’t want to take that as an excuse. Anyone in the team, whenever called upon, must be able to deliver. For example, we had to bring in left-back Michael to replace centre-back Munyovi, who was injured last time out,’’ says the former Odhiambo, who briefly played for Seal before hanging up his boots and taking up a coaching role.
With six matches to go, he believes that the side will gather as many points as possible.
‘’We didn’t entirely play badly. There were positives, and for us right now we head back to the drawing board, aiming to improve on the same,’’ he says.
Odhiambo appeals to the fans to stay put and stand with the boys, as changes happen everywhere.
It was an unprecedented move to occasion coaching changes just as the league is about to end, but that is water under the bridge for him.
‘’I personally want to apologise to the fans who took their time to come and support the team, expecting good results, only to be disappointed. I urge them to continue showing up for us. We understand there is a lot of noise regarding the changes that have happened recently, but that is normal in football. Everything will be fine. They shouldn’t give up,’’ he added.
Seal will travel to a relegation-threatened Kariobangi Sharks this weekend.
They will then have Kakamega Homeboyz, title-chasing Gor Mahia and Bidco United in quick succession.
Mara Sugar will be their last fixture of the 2025/26 FKF Premier League campaign.