Kenya Commercial Bank coach Juma Abdallah has warned that his side will be a force to reckon with in the new season.
Abdallah, who has been rebuilding the team after losing three key players in striker Jacob Keli, Clifford Alwanga and BrianOsumba, said that exit of the trio will not affect his side “because we are building a stronger squad, better than the side that finished fourth last season. Whoever writes us off will be in for a rude shock. The team I have is stronger and they are raring to go,” he said on Monday.
The Brazil-trained tactician on Monday got a shot in the arm after completing the signing of his former player Ezekiel Odera on a two-year deal. Odera joins the bankers for a third spell after unsuccessful stints with Gor Mahia in 2011 and Thika United last term.
Playmaker Paul Kiongera has returned to his parent club after failing to strike a deal with league champions Gor Mahia where he featured last term on a loan arrangement.
Another new face who took part in KCB’s training session at Ruaraka on Monday is former Karuturi Sport and Tusker FC player Andrew Murunga.
Murunga is likely to partner Odera upfront in a new-look attack formation when the season gets under way.
"We have been taking Kiongera through drills and he really looks happy here. He has promised never to return to Gor Mahia. His dream is to get it right here,” he said of the banker’s top scorer in the 2012 season.
Abdallah had no kind words for K’Ogalo either, accusing the league champions of slowing down Kiongera’s career progression.
“He (Kiongera) opted to return here because hewill get playing time which he was lacking at Gor. He has no regrets at all.”
Kiongera made a shock return to KCB last week at a time he was expected to sign a long-term deal with the league champions.
By the time he was leaving K’Ogalo, his name had already been included in the 26-man listsent to the Confederation of African Footfall secretariat in Cairo ahead of Gor’s Caf Confederations Cup campaign that gets underway next month.
His return to KCB took Gor fans by surprise but the club’s outgoing vice chairman, Faiz Magak, said the striker’s move was due to the arrival of George‘Blackberry’ Odhiambo and Rama Salim.
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