Zedekiah Otieno the best assistant for Harambee Stars - James Situma

Former Kenya international James Situma has hailed the selection of Zedekiah Otieno as Francis Kimanzi’s assistant coach at the Harambee Stars.

Otieno, who also handles KCB as head coach, was appointed the assistant after Kimanzi was elevated when the Football Kenya Federation (FKF) terminated Sebastien Migne's contract.

Otieno is expected to be unveiled alongside Kimanzi as the new members of the national team’s technical bench, and Situma feels the friendship between the two coaches will play a pivotal role in helping the Kenyan national side get positive results. 

“In any job or business, trust is very important and this is also what a coach needs in a team,” Situma told Goal.

“When you are not around you are not worried because you feel the second in command could deliver on your behalf.

“In football, everyone wants to be at the top and this can bring wrangles between individuals which hampers productivity in the long run.

“You can even have a look at what happens when top clubs in Europe do when they sign new coaches, the coaches always come with their trusted members of the technical bench.

“Professionally, everyone becomes responsible for the results and if the team wins or lose even the technical bench wins or loses and this underlines the importance of trust and togetherness among the coaching staffs.”

Kimanzi and Otieno will face the task of helping the Harambee Stars qualify for a back-to-back Africa Cup of Nations when they face Egypt, Togo and Comoro Islands in Group G of the qualifiers for the 2021 finals.