Johnathan McKinstry explains why Tyson Otieno was never a Gor Mahia target

Tyson Otieno's much hyped move to star-studded Police FC from Kariobangi Sharks early this month was hailed as a major transfer coup - most notably against Gor Mahia - a masterstroke by the ever-ambitious law enforcers, who had already signed highly rated Kenneth Muguna, a national team player, who had just left Azam FC of Tanzania at the time.

Rumour mill had narrowed down the "scramble" for Otieno's signature to a race between Police FC and freshly crowned Football Kenya Federation Premier League (FKFPL) champions Gor Mahia, with the former, more monied and having loads of goodies to dangle, forcing K'Ogalo to gasp for air in the tight sprint.

Kariobangi Sharks smiling all the way to the bank after cashing Tyson Otieno to Police FC

Yet, in a recent tell-it-all interview with award winning journalist Jeff Kinyanjui on his YouTube channel, Gor Mahia coach Johnathan McKinstry clarified that nothing could be further from the truth.

“There's a lot of fiction out there," the Irishman said. “I don't know if it is brokers or agents who are trying to increase the market value of their players so that one of our rivals pays more for them, I don't know.”

Otieno, an older brother to K'Ogalo midfielder Austine Odhiambo, was a star performer - showing great skill and flair - when Sharks lost 2-0 to Gor Mahia in the second leg of the 2022-23 FKFPL season - with fans calling for his signing.

However, McKinstry holds that there's no way he would have fit into Gor Mahia's jigsaw puzzle. "We never inquired about Tyson (Otieno)," he clarified.

He continued, "He is a player we respect massively, he's got big talent, but when you're building a team, it's like a jigsaw puzzle, you've got to have pieces that fit together, you don't just cram the puzzle pieces together and hope it looks nice, you've got to pick the right pieces.

For us, we just didn't see where a player like Tyson would work in our midfield. I just didn't see where Tyson and Austine would play together in a well-balanced midfield.

Maybe if you're playing a weaker opponent, then, yes, you can play lots of flair players in the midfield, but for us we like what Austine is doing and what the players around him like Wendo (Ernest) are doing."

According to the former Uganda Cranes head coach, most of the transfers Gor Mahia has been linked with are not true except for one, which he did not disclose.

He has shockingly, denied that City Stars’ center back Kennedy Onyango has joined the record 20-time champions saying "We have not had any negotiations with him."