Gor Mahia appoint Sinisa Mihic as new head coach
Football Kenya Federation (FKF) Premier League champions Gor Mahia have appointed Sinisa Mihic as their new head coach for the remainder of the season.
A statement from the club, as reported by Flashscore, confirmed the appointment of the tactician, who possesses a UEFA Pro License and has coaching experience in Sudan, Libya, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait.
“We are delighted to announce Sinisa (Mihic) from Croatia as our new head coach, who will be assisted by Zedekiah 'Zico' Otieno and Michael Nam. We welcome Coach Sinisa to Gor Mahia,” the statement from the record Kenyan champions indicated.
Mihic takes over from Leonardo Martins Neiva, who was dismissed at the beginning of the 2024/25 season after managing only six matches. The Brazilian had joined K’Ogalo at the start of the new campaign, succeeding Johnathan McKinstry, who resigned towards the end of the previous season to assume the head coach position for the Gambia national team.
Neiva’s initial challenge with K’Ogalo led him to Tanzania for the CECAFA Kagame Cup in July, where the team was unable to progress beyond the group stage of the regional tournament. Gor Mahia lost their Group B opener 1-0 to Zambian champions Red Arrows, drew 1-1 against Djibouti Telekom, and suffered a 2-0 defeat to Sudanese side Al Hilal, exiting the tournament without a victory.
The subsequent task for Martins Neiva and Gor Mahia was the CAF Champions League, where they faced El Merreikh of South Sudan in the first preliminary round. K’Ogalo lost the first leg 1-0 in Juba but returned home to secure a 5-1 victory, qualifying with a 5-2 aggregate score.
However, in the second round, they were matched against the defending champions Al Ahly of Egypt. Gor Mahia began at home with a 3-0 loss, and despite Martins Neiva's optimism about reversing the outcome in Cairo, they suffered another 3-0 defeat, resulting in a 6-0 aggregate elimination from the tournament.
He was subsequently dismissed after managing only six matches in the league.
Mihic joins Gor Mahia at a time when the team is positioned third in the 18-team league standings, having accumulated 31 points from 18 matches. The team has recorded 11 victories, four draws, and four losses, placing them six points behind the joint leaders, Kenya Police FC and Tusker.
Mihic’s appointment has elicited mixed reactions from Gor Mahia supporters. Fans expressed varied opinions regarding the club's decision to engage Mihic, who will be supported by Zedekiah ‘Zico’ Otieno and Michael Nam.
Josh Champion argued that Gor Mahia should move away from its fixation on foreign coaches and instead place confidence in local talent. “Gor Mahia’s fixation on foreign coaches is excessive. They need to entrust the role to local coaches,” he stated, a sentiment echoed by Genga Silas, who remarked, “There is no need for foreign coaches; let us elevate our own.”
Dolph Ogutu commented, “Gor Mahia, do you believe you cannot succeed without foreign coaches? You are undermining your potential; let’s support local coaches,” while Brayoh Wah Mavelah questioned, “Why must Gor Mahia consistently rely on foreign managers? Are our homegrown coaches incapable of achieving commendable results? Have we ever seen foreign clubs recruiting our local coaches?”
Lameck Otieno urged Mihic to restore Gor Mahia to its rightful place: “He must lead us back to the top where we belong; the current state of Gor Mahia is unacceptable,” while Roney Odhiambo cautioned Mihic: “With ‘Zico’ as his assistant, he may find himself dismissed within two weeks.”
Steve Noel welcomed Mihic’s appointment, expressing optimism that he would steer Gor Mahia towards the league title. “Now we must secure the league; that is our rightful place,” he remarked.
“This is yet another transient figure introduced,” commented Jack Owitti Owang, while Billy Gilmour maintained a positive outlook, stating, “Let the work commence; we have not been performing as we used to, and I hope he will help us regain our form.”
His most recent position, as reported by the transfermarkt website, was serving as the assistant manager for Al Salmiya SC in Kuwait, from which he was dismissed following the club's poor performance in the Kuwait league.
SportsLigue