Mombasa Elite have had one of the toughest seasons since promotion to the National Super League (NSL) as they sit a point above the drop zone having lost fourteen matches out of 22 games and managing a single win in the last five league meetings.Despite the recent struggles, Coach Phelix Ogutu, who joined the club at the start of the second leg has promised that he can turn around the team’s performances and asked all parties to rally behind the team as they look to scale up the ladder.##NAJAVA_MECA_7958578##Ogutu was brought in to work hand in hand with the long-serving member of the technical bench Patrick Nyale after early struggles left the team bottom of the twenty-team log.His cameo breathed new life into the Elite, leading them to wins against Silibwet Leons, SS Assad, and Kajiado however, found the going tough against Kisumu All Stars, Mathare United, and Mombasa Stars in the Coast derby while drawing with Migori Youth last weekend.“There is no coach that prepares to lose a match, things just don’t work when we get out there, we had several issues that were affecting the playing unit but after the Kisumu All Stars match we sat down with them and ironed what was raised,” Ogutu told Mozzart Sport.”I have to work with the players to improve them and the performance of the team at the same time. I see that they are improving since we had that meeting in Mombasa and I hope to see the same impediment in the remaining 16 matches,” he added.Majak thrilled with Rising Stars call-up, terms it “greatest achievement” this yearThe former Transfoc FC gaffer in the FKF Division One League was quick to defend the quality of his squad saying “There’s one thing that Kenyans are not aware, our objective is different from most of the teams plying trade in the NSL, the average age of my squad is 22 years our team has the aim of developing players and looking at players who we jostle against we need to be smart enough to get the results.”Meanwhile, the gaffer anticipates a tough outing when his side faces promotion-chasing Mara Sugar on Saturday at Serani Sports Complex but is bullish his charges will upset the visiting millers.“It is a normal game just like other matches, we have faced such challenges before in the season, they are coming as favorites but we are going to approach the match with a lot of tactics to make sure we don’t concede but score a lot of goals. The whole team wants to win and move to a safer place,” he concluded.Sakwa: Harambee Stars call-up a big opportunityElite will have to do without the services of two key players Daniel Odhiambo and Grant Odiero who are out on national duties with Kenya Under 20.
